You Need My Help, and I Need Yours
by BlueStar29
Summary: Another FatherSon story with Atem and Yugi. One night, Atem is walking home when he hears a baby crying in an ally.
1. Chapter 1

_

* * *

Sorry about making a new story when I know I've got a lot of work to do on my other ones, but this was a request story from Yami Yuugi. She's done a lot for me, now it's time for me to give something back for her. So, here you go, Angie! Remember, it's only the first chapter, so it'll get better. Also, the name I used of the Hospital acutally is a hospital around where I live. It's like a little city! All my doctors are there ... _

---

_**This is the story of two lost souls. One who had everything, yet thought he had nothing. And one who began with nothing and was meant to have nothing. Fate can be very tricky sometimes. Someone once said '**Something good can always come out of something bad**'. That's the way things work for the one who had nothing. Fate can seem confusing at times as well. But no matter what fate has in store for us, it is always unexpected …**_

_---_

Atem Darkling was a young man at the age of twenty – five. For being as young as he was, he made a great deal amount of money as a Game Designer for Nintendo. He came up with ideas and illustrated the characters for the games' stories. Because he made so much money, he worked at home most of the time. Other times, he had to go down to Nintendo Headquarters to drop off his latest ideas. That was what he had to do today … and he was not in a good mood. It was a very rainy day. It had rained showers all day, and now those showers had turned to thunderstorms. Atem had driven his car to the office just like he always did. But today was a deadline day and Atem had gotten there very late. His boss told him that if it happened again, he would be fired. As if that wasn't enough, he parked in a '_No Parking_' zone; so his car was towed. That meant he had to walk in the thunderstorm. Not to mention that he had just gotten a phone call from the police station, telling him that his oldest brother, Marik was in jail again for reasons he didn't even want to know. He knew his younger brother, Bakura would bail Marik out just like his always did, do Atem didn't think too much of it. No, today was not a good day for the Darkling Clan.

Atem wrapped his arms around himself. His overcoat didn't have a hood attached to it to protect him from the rain, so he had to find some other ways to get warm. Thunder rolled loudly past him. It sounded really close. He shivered, mostly being soaked to the bone. "Luck is just not on my side today …" He said to himself as he continued to walk. When he stopped at a cross walk, a speeding car raced past him, spraying a deep puddle of water all over him. Atem yelled to the heavens as loud as he could. "Could today possibly get any worse, I HATE MY LIFE!"

Suddenly, there was a high pitched screaming noise. Atem looked around, but he saw no one. His wet hair emitted droplets as his head moved from left to right. "Where is that noise coming from?" He listened carefully. It sounded as if the noise was coming from the ally right behind him. Atem ran down the ally and noticed a trail of blood on the ground. It had turned a pink color due to the rain. But it was still thick enough to give off the scent of blood. Suddenly, the screaming cry became louder. Atem carefully walked down the rest of the ally until he came to a dead end. He still heard the scream. It sounded like a baby crying. He tossed a few boxes out of the way until he found the source of the sound. When he did, he gasped out loud. "A baby!" Not only was the crying coming from an infant, but the infant had a full head of fuzz that looked like it was growing in the same tri – colored way his was. The child had five yellow bangs right alone his hair line and some fuzz growing out of his head that was tipped with the color magenta. The child was even smaller then Atem's lower arm. He looked as if he were suffering as well. He was extremely blue, wrapped in nothing but soggy newspaper. He kept taking in short breaths like he was choking. Atem looked around he couldn't find anyone who looked like parents that had just lost a child. But as he took a closer look, he could tell that the way the child's placenta wasn't attached and how he was wrapped in newspaper, that the child had been abandoned. "Oh no, what do I do!" Atem asked himself. The child screamed even more, trying to get his point across that he needed help. Atem bent down and took the tiny infant into his arms with the soggy newspaper wrapped around him. "Don't worry, I'll help you!" Atem ran as fast as he could to the nearest doctor's office or hospital. Unfortunately, the nearest hospital was five blocks away. Atem feared that the child would die by the time he reached the hospital. He looked down at the tiny bundle in his arms. The child looked to be dead, but Atem wouldn't take that chance. He ran even faster.

---

St. John's Mercy Emergency Room was unusually quiet tonight. Usually, they would be packed with patients. But not today. One nurse sighed just as the automatic doors flew open with a man carrying something in his arms. Both the man and the bundle were soaking wet and dripping all over the place. The nurse gave them a glare. "No running in the hospital, please." She said. Atem panted.

"This is an emergency!" The nurse took one look at the unhealthy, tiny baby in Atem's arms and immediately called for assistance to the front desk. Before Atem could even form a single thought, he was surrounded by surgeons and nurses who grabbed the child from Atem's arms and started doing tests on him and wheeled him down the hall. Atem wanted to follow, but the nurse behind the desk grabbed his arm.

"Sir, you need to fill out these papers so we can reach you if your son needs you." Atem stared at her when she said the word 'son'.

" … He … he's not … my son …" The nurse cocked her head.

"Then how …?"

"I found him in an ally … but I will pay to have this child examined and helped." The young game maker took the clip board offered to him and filled out the paperwork. There were questions such as his name, address, phone number, and insurance. There was one blank space for the patient's name. Atem was stumped; the baby probably didn't even have a name … at least not yet. Hours passed before he finished the paperwork. After about four hours, he didn't even try to finish the paperwork. He just sat there, crewing on the pen he'd been using, thinking of how terrible that baby looked. Suddenly, someone called his name.

"Mr. … Darkling?" Atem stood up with the clip board in his hand. He and the doctor shook hands before the conversation of the child began.

"How is he, Doctor?" The doctor sighed. The two started to slowly walk down the hall.

"Well, only time will tell us."

"What do you mean?"

"Mr. Darkling, I understand that you said this child wasn't your son?" Atem nodded.

"Yes, that's correct."

"Well, did you know that this child is three months premature?" Ruby eyes widened. He couldn't believe it.

"Three months!"

"Yes," The doctor looked at the clip board that he had taken from Atem, "It says here that you found him in an ally … wrapped in newspaper?" Atem nodded again.

"Is he sick?"

"More like dying …"

"What!"

"We're trying to stabilize him as well as we can. He couldn't have been more then an hour old before you found him."

"Why was he so blue?"

"He was freezing. It seems that this baby was forced to be born. Not only that, but a bit of brain damage has been done to him. He has bruises all over him and his underdeveloped lungs are very tight, trying to keep him breathing. It's my theory that the mother of this child both smoked and drank while she was pregnant with him." Atem looked away with wide eyes and a hand over his mouth. "Also, she might have abused him physically by repeatedly beating her abdomen over and over again; we think that's where his bruises came from. Most of his organs are still underdeveloped so we put him in incubator and hooked him up to a respirator because of his weak breathing."

"That's terrible!"

"Yes, I know. You said the baby was wrapped in newspaper?"

"Yes, which is why I'm sure the parents meant to abandon their baby. They wanted him to be born, yet didn't want to take care of him." The Doctor nodded.

"I believe you are right." Atem swallowed the lump in his throat, causing his Adam's apple to quiver a little.

"What are his chances?" The Doctor closed his eyes and looked away.

"Ten percent." A gasp came from the ruby eyed young man.

"Can't you do something to increase his chances?"

"Mr. Darkling, we're doing everything we can; all we can do is treat him. The rest is up to his abilities." Atem took in a deep breath to calm his nerves and nodded.

"Can I see him?" The doctor was about to protest, but the look in Atem's eyes was very desperate.

"Sure."

---

In a special nursery, the tiny baby lay on his back with dozens of machines hooked up to him. He was so tiny, that you could mistake him for not even being there. Atem had to wear a blue scrub gown when he entered the special nursery. "My God …" Atem whispered. He couldn't imagine someone suffering this much at the dawn of life. The baby was still a very pale blue color, but looked a little warmer then he previously had. He had to focus his eyes on his belly just to see the child's stomach rise and fall. The poor thing was wheezing even with the respirator. The child's fingers were the tiniest Atem had ever seen before. He smiled to himself, thinking that it was impossible to have bones that were that small. Every once in a while, the baby would inhale a deep breath in his sleep. Atem's eyes began to water and he couldn't stop the tears that fell down his face. The doctor had told Atem that they would perform a genetics test to see if they could find the baby's parents. But would Atem let the biological parents see their child? This child had done nothing wrong, and his parents decided he wasn't worth taking care of. How could someone do this to their child? He reached into one of the holes in the incubator and placed his finger into the tiny, soft palm of the child. What was even more adorable was when the baby wrapped his teeny, tiny fingers around Atem's own finger. He smiled to himself and made a promise that he would make sure the hospital did everything to make sure this child lived to see his first birthday. "Don't worry, Little One. I promise I'll be here for you …" He let his thumb caress the tiny fingers. His warm and fuzzy moment was interrupted when someone cleared their throat. Atem looked behind him to see the doctor filling out some papers.

"Mr. Darkling, could we ask you a favor and come up with a name for him?"

"Me?"

"Yes; we can't keep calling him '_Baby John Doe_' forever. And did you want him to take on your last name for a while?" Atem's eyes never left the baby's tiny form, fighting to stay alive.

"I take it that you didn't find his parents." Once again, the doctor sighed.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have any records of anyone in his bloodline in our files." This time, it was Atem's turn to sigh.

"Yes, let him take my last name; and his first name … is Yugi." The doctor smiled.

"Okay, then … 'Yugi Darkling'." Atem smiled. And, if one were to look very, very closely, you could almost see the faintest smile on Little Baby Yugi's face.

---

_End of Chapter._


	2. Adoption

_Wow, I thought you'd all be sick of me placing the two as father and son, but it turns out that everyone wanted a fresh story like this. Well, okay, here you go. There will be some grammer issues later on in the chapter, but it's supposed to be there so don't correct me._

_---_

Days passed, then months. It had already been two months since Atem had brought Yugi to St. John's Mercy. Each day, the young man would visit the tiny baby who never moved in the incubator, for a few hours and then would head back home to work. It became a routine for him to come in at nine o'clock am and stay until noon. The nurses started to call him 'Atem' instead of 'Mr. Darkling'. The tiny infant was so still, that Atem would have thought Yugi dead had he not been hooked to a heart monitor. He was so concerned, that it was starting to affect his work. His boss told him to take some time off before he had a psychotic episode. Atem fully agreed. On the day Yugi turned two months, Atem stayed in the hospital all day with the little one. He even bought the child a panda bear stuffed animal. Of course Yugi couldn't respond, but he put the bear in the corner of the incubator so Yugi would have something to cuddle with, even though he didn't move at all. As two more weeks passed, and still no change was made from the baby, Atem started to lose his hope; but not all. He would read books to the baby, hoping that he could hear the voice of the one who saved him. Another week passed, and still no change. That is until …

By the end of the second month, the doctor had called Atem in and said that they had some news to tell him. Atem rushed to St. John's Mercy Intensive Care Unit quickly. The doctor was filling out something on a clip board when Atem came running through the double doors, almost knocking over a nurse that was carrying an assortment of needles. "I'm terribly sorry, Ma'am." The doctor couldn't help but snicker.

"Well, I never!" After helping the nurse, Atem walked over to the doctor who was looking at the clip board and smiling.

"Have a nice trip, Atem?" The game illustrator rolled his eyes.

"How's Yugi, you said you had something to tell me."

"Yes, and I'm sure you'll be glad to hear it. We took him off the respirator last night, and he made it through the night without a problem; so he's not using the respirator right now." Atem smiled.

"That's wonderful!"

"Wait, I've got a bigger surprise for you."

"What is it?" The doctor waved his hand.

"Come with me." With that, Atem walked after the doctor.

---

Both men walked down the long, white hallways. "Yugi's health is rapidly getting better. He's breathing on his own, he's starting to move around, and he's beginning to make sounds. You haven't been here in a few days, Atem; so thought you'd want to know that we're moving Yugi into the regular nursery to see how he does with that for a while." Atem smiled as they continued to walk.

"That's terrific; but what is the surprise?"

"Patience, Atem; Patience." The doctor led Atem into the nursery and over to one of the cribs. Atem couldn't stop the smile from forming on his face. Inside the crib was a tiny baby Yugi, making cooing noises and moving his arms and legs every now and then. The one thing that Atem didn't like was the fact that the child still had his eyes closed.

"Why are his eyes closed?"

"He hasn't opened them yet at all," Atem was about to ask if there was something wrong with Yugi's eyes, but the doctor gave his answer before Atem could speak, "there's really nothing wrong, but preemies have a tendency not to open their eyes for a couple of weeks."

"But it's been almost three months." The doctor sighed.

"Which is what concerns me. Every test that is done on his eyes reports that nothing is wrong … eyesight is good, all systems are healthy, but for some reason, he just doesn't want to open his eyes."

"Maybe he's just shy."

"Perhaps. We can tell that his eyes are in perfect health by the way he moves his eyeballs under his eyelids, see?" Atem watched at the baby turned his head to the side and sure enough, he did see the little movement under the eyelids. Suddenly, Yugi scrunched up his face and screamed so loudly that the other babies around him started to cry as well.

"Is he alright?" The doctor smirked.

"Yes, he just wants to be held, but every time someone holds him, he still isn't satisfied." The doctor reached into the crib and picked up the baby, wrapping him in the snowflake and penguin decorated fleece blanket that Atem had given him. As Yugi lay in the doctor's arms, he screamed even louder then before. "See what I mean? We were hoping you could calm him down."

"Me?" The doctor nodded and slowly handed the baby over to the young man next to him. Yugi still wouldn't stop crying. "Maybe he's hungry." The doctor shook his head.

"He was just fed and changed." Atem rocked the child back and forth, trying to sooth him.

"There, there, Little One … I'm here now; there's no reason to be upset." Atem gently rubbed his finger over Yugi's soft cheek. Instantly, the child's crying stopped, leaving only a few cuddling coos behind. Atem chuckled a bit, seeing the child become so comfortable. He looked at the doctor with a confused look. "How did you know that he would stop crying if I held him?" The doctor smiled.

"Because he knows who you are the most. Even in the womb, babies learn to identify voices. Since you're the one who's been around Yugi the most, he knows you by voice; and now, he knows you by touch." Atem looked down at Yugi. The infant snuggled his tiny, chubby face into the man's chest with the blanket still around him. Atem adjusted Yugi so that he held him a little higher in his arms; he bent down and gave Yugi a kiss on the forehead, earning a smile and a soft coo from him.

"It's like he's so empathic."

"He's very intelligent." Atem took a seat in a chair and looked at the doctor.

"I thought you said he had a little brain damage.

"Yes, but wasn't sever; Yugi's brainwaves are developing at a slower rate then usual. It's easy to tell that he will have some learning disabilities; he may have Attention Deficit, and Dyslexia." Atem had heard of Attention Deficit because his brothers both had it, but he'd never heard of Dyslexia before.

"What is Dyslexia?"

"Dyslexia is learning disability where children have trouble seeing things the way they're supposed to be. He may write a few of his letters backwards." Atem looked down at the child again. He moved Yugi so that his entire body was lying against his chest. Yugi didn't seem to have any objections. He was just comfortable being in the presence of someone familiar.

"Anything else?"

"Yes … the damage that was done due to the beating while he was in his mother's womb may have caused some difficulties with his memory. From time to time, he may forget things like what he was doing, where he was going, or even who he was talking to. When these memory spells start to occur, it's best to remind him like you would any other person." Atem rested his lips on Yugi's forehead, taking in that newborn scent. Sounded like Yugi was going to have a tough time growing up … but wait … he just remembered … Yugi wasn't his child. He was just paying to have the kid brought back to health and that was it. Of course, Atem never thought he'd fall in love with the child … A thought came to him; ever since he was an adolescent of the age of eighteen, all he'd ever wanted to be was a father. One night, he made a drunken mistake, and when the woman he slept with mentioned that she was pregnant, he knew he wanted to be a father more than anything. Sadly though, that baby ended up being a miscarriage. Atem was devastated at the time, but now he thought it was for the best. He was young and knew nothing of being a father. Now, he was twenty – five. He was older, and even knew a few things about kids. Atem stroked Yugi's cheek who smiled and clenched Atem's shirt in his tiny fingers.

"What's going to happen to him?"

"Well, we'll put him in a children's home while Social Services is on the lookout to find him a home … I just hope he ends up with loving and patient parents." Atem gave Yugi another kiss on the forehead. He just couldn't give this child up. In all the time he spent at the hospital by the baby boy's side, he had fallen in love with him. Not just because Yugi was starting to coincidently look like him, but because he and Yugi had bonded spiritually. Whenever Atem would caress Yugi's tiny hand with his finger, the baby would smile, even though he wouldn't move anything else. It tore Atem's heart from the inside out to think of someone else raising this child … and what if Yugi was stuck with someone who wouldn't be able to fulfill all the needs that he … well, needed? Or worse … what if he went with someone who abused him even more? Atem pulled the child closer to him; he'd promised Yugi that he'd never let him be hurt ever again. Yugi cooed and rubbed his cheek against Atem's shirt. That was it … Atem's mind was made up.

" … Well," The doctor looked at Atem when he spoke. The young man seemed to be having a hard time forming his sentence. "W – What if … what if I … adopted him …?" The doctor raised his eyebrows at the request. When no answer came from the doctor, Atem shrugged his shoulders.

" … You're kidding … you really wanna adopt him?" Atem nodded.

"Yes, I think I could take care of him." The doctor put his clip board down and took a seat right next to Yugi's plastic crib.

"Atem, do you even know how to raise a baby … more like a premature baby? They need constant care!" Atem shrugged.

"So, I did that with my brothers all the time." The doctor sighed.

"It's a little different from that." Atem looked at Yugi who was chewing on his shirt now and cooing, telling Atem that he was now awake.

"Well, he has to stay here for a little while longer, right? I'm on vacation time now, so why don't I come in and learn from one of the nurses?" The doctor held his hand to his chin, making a 'hmm' sound.

"Well … I don't know …"

"Please, Doctor … I can't stand the thought of someone else raising him. No one understands him like I do … I've been here with him through every step of the way, and now I want to be there for him for the rest of his life." The doctor clicked his tongue and stood up.

"Let me get a hold of Social Services …" Without even finishing his sentence, the doctor left Atem with Yugi in his arms. He shifted Yugi so that the baby was lying across his arms again. Yugi made cooing noises and moved his arms and legs every now and then. Atem stood up while talking to him softly and started to sway back and forth softly so Yugi could fall back to sleep.

"Everything's going to be alright, Little One; no matter what I have to do, I will make sure you come home with me." With a tiny yawn, something extraordinary happened. Yugi's eyelids twitched for a second before they slowly opened all together, showing the most beautiful color of amethyst Atem had ever seen. "You opened your eyes for me!" Yugi's adorable big eyes blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the light. "I don't think you can see me just yet, can you? This is the first time you've opened your eyes, isn't it?" Yugi smiled, revealing his two bare gums and chubby round cheeks. Atem gave Yugi one more kiss before the doctor came back in.

"Okay, I've talked to Social Services, and --- what?" Atem looked up, smiling at the doctor.

"Look, he opened his eyes!"

"Really?" The doctor walked over to the baby and saw the most adorable eyes he'd ever seen as well. Yugi kept blinking every few milliseconds and looking around, making cute little baby noises.

"This is unbelievable; I didn't think he'd open his eyes at all by the way he was acting!" Atem chuckled.

"I guess he really was just shy." The doctor smiled and looked at Atem.

"Atem, it's apparent to me that you clearly hold this child's best interest at heart and that you'd do anything for him, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"If it were up to me, I'd sign the papers right now and hand him over to you; however, it's not up to me. Social Services require a few interviews with people who want to adopt children. It's a long process; it contains many frequent and random visits and inspections, and a lot of interviews."

"I'm used to random visits all the time since my brothers always come over unexpectedly."

"Well, they're also going to take more precaution because you're still single and can't provide Yugi with a mother."

"I can be both … you know what I mean …"

"Yes well, what I mean is that they would like to see if your house is child safe and that you can provide a positive environment for him to grow up in." Atem nodded.

"I live in a two story house by myself; and my brothers come over all the time, so believe me, it's child safe." The doctor chuckled.

"Well, I'm going to give you their number so that you can call them and have them explain everything to you." Atem nodded and out of reluctance, put Yugi back in his crib, who started to cry as soon as he left the warmth of being held. Atem gave the doctor a worried glance, but he assured the young man that they would be fine once Yugi was asleep.

---

Later that night, Atem did call Social Services. They faxed him a few papers that he needed to fill out and assigned him a social worker who would be handling his case. Atem did everything he was told. He really wanted Yugi to legally be his son. He spent all night going over the paperwork, probably consuming all the coffee he had in his house. As tired as he was, he wouldn't stop until Yugi was officially 'Yugi Darkling'. Suddenly, the front door slammed open, bringing in two very annoying voices. "Oh no …" Atem thought.

"I thought I told you not to make faces at the kids in the park anymore; you know how much they scream and I get yelled at every time you do that, Marik!" An annoyingly low yet high voice said.

"Oh, shut your trap, 'Kura! You're a lawyer, if you're ever sued, you can get yourself outta it!" The other, lower voice that belonged to Marik added. Both men walked into Atem's kitchen / dinning room, still arguing with each other.

"I spend all my money buying your food, puttin' a roof over your head, and bailin' you outta jail!"

"And for that, I'm grateful, Baby Brother, but I" ---

"WILL YOU TWO SHUT UP!" Atem yelled. Both Bakura and Marik looked at their middle brother like he had just exploded.

"Gee, who got their chocolate in your peanut butter, 'Tem?" Marik asked. Atem groaned and went back to focus on his paperwork. As much as Atem loved his brother, this was one of the times where he really wished they weren't as close as they were. Marik and Bakura came over to Atem's house about everyday just to hang out. When Atem first moved into his house, the other two used to call him and tell him that they were coming over; they also used to knock as well. Now, they come over unexpected and just barge in. Atem really didn't care if he wasn't working, but right now he was busy. Just because they were triplets, didn't mean that they needed to be together twenty – four / seven. Yes, they were triplets. Marik was the oldest by one minute, followed by Atem, and then finally, Bakura. Each was a minute apart. I know what you're thinking: oh, their poor mother! But luckily, Atem was mature for his age. Bakura tried, but still, he wasn't very responsible. And as for Marik, well, he can't even heat up a can of beans without calling his friends down at the fire department, metaphorically speaking. Marik relied on both his brothers to help him through life. He lived with Bakura in his apartment. Anyway, this was something Atem knew his brothers wouldn't understand even if they tried.

After getting a beer from Atem's refrigerator and letting out a loud belch, Marik bent over Atem's shoulder to see what he was working on. "Adoption? You're gonna adopt something?" The middle triplet let out a sigh.

"No, Marik; not something, someone; I want to adopt a child."

"Why, so Marik can make faces at 'im, then you try an' sue me just like those jackasses at the park?" Atem and Bakura both had to snicker at that.

"Hey, hey, hey! I wouldn't do that ta ma niece … or nephew … which one're ya getting'?"

"A boy, Marik; that baby I told you about … the one I found in the ally and saved. I want to adopt him." Silence passed through the three brothers before Bakura decided to speak.

"But you don't even got a wife!"

"I'm aware of that, Bakura; but that's not gonna stop me from trying to adopt him." Marik pulled out one of the chairs from the table and sat in it backwards.

"What do you need to do?" Atem sighed and ran both of his hands through his hair, setting his glasses down on the table.

"Well, first they're going to interview me, then they're gonna come inspect the house." Bakura moved to sit on the other side of Atem and looked over the papers. "Then they'll decide"

"What's to inspect in the house?"

"Well, they're just going to do the basics such as sharp objects are put up high, toxic chemicals are stored away, and that there are safe places for the baby to play and safe things for him to play with." As Atem and Bakura talked, Marik was doing his own thing.

"Hehe hey Fellas, check it out; I'm gonna break ma record for holdin' a spoon on th' nose!" Atem and Bakura both started at Marik for a few seconds before speaking again.

" … Well, that shouldn't be too much of a problem for you, 'Tem; ya had to make this place safe just to let Marrie in here."

"Hey, hey, hey! You promised Mom you'd never use that word again!" Marik yelled, pointing a finger at Bakura who smirked.

"_Ladies_, please, can we get back to the task at hand?" He looked over at Bakura. "Bakura, do you think you could help me out with all this legal stuff?" Bakura looked over the papers.

"Well, I think so; I got a buddy that works down in the Services, so that should rule in our favor." Atem smiled.

"Thank you; oh, and by the way, don't tell Mom and Dad about this just yet." Marik started leaning back in the chair.

"Why not? Ya know Mom's always wanted ta be a gramma."

"Yes, and that's why I don't want her to know. If I can't get custody of Yugi, then I don't want her ever finding out about my applying to adopt a child and crush her hopes of ever becoming a grandmother." Bakura held up two fingers.

"Scout's Honor; secret's safe with me … and I'll make sure Marrie doesn't blab either; ya know how his mouth just run and run without a way of stoppin' it."

"'Kura, you better watch it. Because next time you take a bath, it's gonna be '_rubba dub dub, I dropped the blender in the tub_'!" Bakura rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, 'Tem. I'll get this all straightened out. C'mon, Marrie; let's get back to the crib b'fore I decide ta throw ya outta 'Tem's attic from three stories up!" As his brothers left, Atem smiled with new hope. Thanks to his younger brother, he may be able to win custody of Yugi after all. He couldn't wait. He loved holding that child earlier today. The warm feeling he got when Yugi opened his eyes for the first time just to see Atem … and that look of innocence without a care in the world and all the trust one could offer. Atem wanted so much to hold that baby right now, but it was almost midnight and visiting hours were way over. Tomorrow, Atem would stay at the hospital for the whole day and watch the nurses take care of Yugi so that he could learn. With that thought in mind, along with the thought of holding Yugi again, he went to sleep.

---

_End of Chapter_


	3. Lessons in Childcare

_Sorry this took so long, but I've got a lot of typing to do. Because I didn't update '_Memories_' at all last week, I have to do that this week. So this along with my others probably won't got updated until next week, or whenever I can get that chapter up. Also, in a review, a question was asked that if Ryou and Malik will come in soon, they will, but not as adoptable kids, just as Yugi's classmates. And the name I picked out fot the doctor is acutally a professer in the Science department at the college I work in. So, here you go ..._

**---**

**The next day, Atem arrived at the hospital at five o' clock in the morning. He had been so excited to see Yugi again. When he arrived at the Nursery, he had to give his name to the annoying nurse because she was one of the night – time people who didn't know about Atem. Once that was done, he walked over to Yugi's plastic crib and smiled when he saw the baby's tiny arm around the panda bear that Atem had bought for him. His fist held the bear's nose tightly. He had a pacifier in his mouth that occasionally made a little wiggle in his mouth when the baby would silently suck. Atem didn't have the heart to wake the baby up this instant so he sat in the chair next to the crib and relaxed. One nurse came up to the crib to check Yugi's temperature. She used one of those thermometers that can take a child's temperature from the ear. As soon as she stuck the thermometer in Yugi's tiny ear, the child screamed his lungs out, causing the nurse to flinch and the other babies to wake up and cry along with him. Atem shot up out of the seat and went to inspect what happened. "What did you do?" He asked.**

"**All I was doing was taking his temperature. We do this everyday, Sir. So please let me deal with this." Atem glared at the nurse before he bent over the crib and wrapped Yugi up in the fleece blanket and picked him up. "Hey, you can't do that!"**

"**Yes I can, I'm paying to have him treated."**

"**But he's our responsibility." Atem smirked.**

"**Check your office; I'm sure you'll find a note from Dr. Manteuffel (**_Man – too – full_**) to expect me this morning." The nurse glared at Atem this time. But he didn't seem to care. He looked down at the baby in his arms and started to cuddle him. "Shh … it's alright, Little One. I'm here now … shh …" Yugi's wailing started to calm when he heard Atem's voice. He opened his eyes and looked directly at Atem. Shapes were starting to form, and Yugi recognized the spikes of his savior and hopefully his soon – to – be – adopted – father. The baby smiled and burbled in an impossibly adorably cute way. "Good morning, Yugi." Yugi let out a tiny giggle and kicked his equally tiny feet. Looking up, Atem saw the nurse's surprised look. He smirked.**

"**Yugi knows who I am; I'm here to learn how to take care of him because I want to adopt him." The nurse felt stupid for yelling at him.**

"**I'm sorry, Sir; I had no idea."**

"**I know you didn't," Atem tickled Yugi's soft tummy as the baby gave another tiny giggle, "just tell me how to feed him." The nurse walked over, trying to take Yugi away from Atem, but he tightened his hold on the infant and gave a look that _clearly_ said '**_back off**'**_**. The nurse sighed.**

"**Well, first we have to give him a bath." Atem's gaze softened as he looked down to the squirming baby, happily cooing in his arms. Yugi's amethyst eyes met Atem's ruby ones and the baby let out a happy squeal. **

"**Fine, I'll do it; I need to learn how anyway." The nurse gave up and told Atem to follow her.**

**---**

**The nurse led Atem into a separate room and told him to take Yugi's tiny gown off while she filled a small tub of water. Atem set Yugi down on a cushioned countertop and slowly began to unbutton the infant's gown. He kept smiling at the baby who refused to stay still. The game illustrator could tell that the baby was just happy and was playing with him so there was no reason to get angry. Atem chuckled, causing Yugi to softly giggle. Once Yugi was out of the gown, Atem waited for the next instruction from the nurse.**

**"Okay, he still can't hold his own head up yet, so you're gonna have to hold his head for him. Lay him across your arms." Atem did as told. He carefully put his hand under Yugi's head and guided the naked baby into his arms. The child was even softer without that infant sized hospital gown on. Baby Yugi started to whine. He wasn't exactly crying, but he stared into Atem's eyes with a look that that asked '_what are you doing_'. Atem smiled and walked over to the tiny tub filled with warm water. "Good, now take this sponge and gently dab his body with it." Atem took the sponge and wrung it out so that it wouldn't be too much for Yugi. The baby made a whining sound and looked at Atem with desperate eyes.**

**"Shh … it's alright, Little One." Yugi kept whining and soon, tears were being shown. And that's when Atem knew it … "Shh … You should always feel safe in my arms, Little Yugi. I promise not to hurt you …" Atem rubbed Yugi's cheek with the soft sponge and the child responded the same way he did every time Atem rubbed his cheek; he nuzzled it. Atem smiled and resumed washing the tiny infant. Yugi relaxed when the silk sponge carefully lined his tender skin with water and soap. The nurse just stood in the corner and watched the adorable scene in front of her. She wished that all preemies had people like Atem to care for them. Yugi continued to coo and wiggle as Atem rinsed the baby with another layer of water. As soon as that part was done, the young man gently, with his hand under Yugi's head, laid him down on top of a soft towel and folded it around Yugi's tiny and slightly damp body. Then he picked him up again, allowing Yugi to rest his head on Atem's chest, chewing on a string of the towel, which Atem took out of his mouth. The nurse clapped, gaining Atem's attention.**

**"Very good, Mr. Darkling; I've never seen a man take as much caution with an infant's bath as you did." Atem smiled.**

**"Well, I know how he's still very delicate." Yugi continued to coo and play with the short necklace around Atem's neck. When he saw that the infant wanted to see what the necklace tasted like, he moved the baby away from his necklace and closer to his face. "No, no, no, Yugi; you don't want that in your mouth." The nurse smiled again at the scene before her.**

**"Well, my shift is over. Audrey should be here in a few minutes." **

**"Thank you … uh … what is you're name?"**

**"Oh, I'm Michelle."**

**"Well, thank you for showing me how to bathe him, Michelle." Michelle smiled.**

**"No problem!" After she left, Atem laid Yugi down in his tiny crib and proceeded to dress him in a one – piece blue outfit that buttoned together. Yugi giggled and kicked his little legs up in the air. The only thing Atem could do was chuckle along with the playful baby boy. **

**"You're just a happy little bundle of giggles, aren't you?" Yugi squealed in delight at the question. Atem picked Yugi up again and cradled him in his arms. He gave Yugi a kiss on the forehead, inhaling that baby scent of his. Just then, the nurse that Atem was used to, Audrey came in.**

**"Oh, hi Atem; I knew you were coming in today, but I didn't think we'd expect you this early."**

**"Well, I want to learn everything I can about taking care of him." **

**"That's wonderful!" Suddenly, Yugi let out a loud cry and started to scream a little bit.**

**"What, what's happening, why is he crying, what did I do?" Audrey laughed out loud at Atem's surprise.**

**"Nothing, Atem; he's just hungry." Audrey took the crying Yugi out of Atem's arms and went to fetch a bottle for him. Atem followed the nurse. Through the whole walk, Yugi cried because of his empty tummy. Audrey reached for a bottle and turned to Atem.**

**"Do you know how to make a bottle of formula?" Atem blinked a couple of times before he answered.**

**"Well … I know that you fill it with baby formula, put it in the microwave for about three minutes then check the temperature …" The nurse giggled.**

**"It's a little different for him," Atem cocked his head to the side in confusion. The nurse gave Yugi back to him so she could show him what to do, "You see, you're right about pouring the formula, but Yugi's stomach is only about the size of his tiny fist and he still has a little bit of a colic; so you have to have a small bottle for a few more months until he grows a little more. He doesn't eat a lot, so there's no point in wasting your money on big bottles." Atem nodded and mentally noted the size of the bottle she had in her hand. It was about half the size of a normal bottle. Yugi still whimpered and squirmed in annoyance that he had to wait for his food. Atem's hand patted Yugi on his back while he watched the nurse grab another bottle. This one looked like a medicine bottle. "This is a special vitamin that we give to our more serious case preemies. It helps with their growth and development and sooths their colic so that it doesn't hurt when they eat."**

**"How long with he have to take it?" The nurse thought for a second.**

**"You might wanna ask Dr. Manteuffel about that." Atem nodded. The nurse measured about one teaspoon of the liquid vitamin and put it into the small bottle of formula. She put the nipple on the top and shook it for a bout ten seconds. "You wanna shake it to make sure it mixes with the formula." Atem nodded again as she put the bottle into a microwave for about four minutes. Yugi was really getting impatient and screamed out loud for attention.**

**"Does he do this often?"**

**"Yup, everyday, five times a day."**

**"Five?" Audrey nodded.**

**"Yes; babies eat every three hours and they go through a lot of formula. But because Yugi's so small and doesn't have a big appetite, he should be eating every two hours instead of three."**

**"Why is that?"**

**"His stomach is smaller then usual, so he digests faster then most infants." Atem moved Yugi so that he was laying his head on the man's shoulder. When the four minutes were done, Audrey dipped a drop of formula onto her arm and approved the temperature. Atem moved Yugi again so that he was lying in his arms while he took the bottle from her. Yugi continued to cry until he felt a rubber substance tap his lips. Opening his eyes, he saw the rubber nipple and opened his mouth, allowing the entire nipple to enter. The baby moaned and made suckling sounds as he ate. Atem held the bottle upward so Yugi would have a better time getting the food that he so obviously wanted. Audrey watched them. "Would you like to sit down, Atem?" The young man nodded, not looking away from Yugi and sat on a chair. He gently rocked back and forth, seeing Yugi's eyes start to droop. The baby continued to make adorable noises as he ate. Every once in a while, his fist would rub against Atem's fingers and his legs would kick. He gave Yugi another kiss on the forehead.**

**"He's so peaceful when he eats." Audrey nodded.**

**"Yeah, he becomes quieter with a full stomach." Soon, Yugi's mouth pulled away from the bottle, signaling that he had had enough. The bottle was only half empty. Just as Atem pulled Yugi up to lay against his shoulder, Audrey stopped him.**

**"Before you begin burping him, don't pat his back; it works better if you rub instead."**

**"Why?" Audrey shrugged.**

**"I don't think he likes it. Every time I pat him, he cries; but if I rub his back, he's fine." Atem shrugged and tried Audrey's approach. In no time, a tiny burp came out of Yugi, who giggled afterward. Atem chuckled too.**

**"Happy now?" Yugi smiled and drooled a little bit before a burst of white stuff flew out of his mouth. Luckily for Atem, he had one of those spit – diapers on his shoulder to catch it. Taking it off, He placed Yugi on his other shoulder, who started to whine and squirm … even more then babies normally do. "What's the matter with him?" Audrey sighed and took Yugi from Atem.**

**"It's his colic; the vitamin helps with the pain, but doesn't make it go away completely. It should be gone in the next week or so." Atem tried to calm Yugi down, but all he did was cry louder. **

**"Isn't there something you can do to help him?" Audrey thought of something. She left for a second and returned with some kind of cream.**

**"Here; rub this on his tummy." She commanded. Atem unbuttoned the front of Yugi's outfit, took a lit of cream on his fingers and gently rubbed it on Yugi's soft tummy. While he did this, the child's cries became small whimpers and then stopped all together.**

**"Wow, what's in that stuff?" He asked. Audrey smirked and screwed the lid back onto the jar of cream.**

**"Our own secret stuff that we use on colicky babies." Audrey helped button up Yugi's outfit while the baby sucked on his tiny fist and cooed. "Now, I have to go check on the other babies; are you going to be alright by yourself, Atem?" The addressed young man nodded and smiled while he played with the baby in his arms. Audrey smiled at Yugi's tiny giggles. When she was gone, Atem took a seat next to Yugi's crib. When he tried to lay the baby in the plastic bed, he cried. Soon, it became some sort of game for the tiny baby until Atem figured out that Yugi just wanted attention. So he sat down in the same chair with Yugi in one arm and the panda bear in the other. Yugi grabbed for the bear when Atem rubbed it against his nose and began to chew on it. As long as Yugi was quiet, things were fine. So Atem figured that while the baby played with his stuffed panda, he'd rest his eyes for a while … that is, until Yugi started to cry again.**

**"Yugi, what's wrong?" Yugi cried and grabbed a fistful of Atem's shirt. Atem stood up and went to go find Audrey. "Audrey, where are you? I think something's wrong with Yugi!" Soon, Audrey was seen running into the nursery.**

**"Atem, what's wrong?"**

**"Something's wrong with Yugi, he won't stop crying!" Audrey looked at Yugi for a second.**

**"Oh, it's nothing serious, Atem; he's wet." Atem's eyes widened.**

**"Wet … as in …"**

**"As in he needs a diaper change?" Audrey asked as if it were so obvious.**

**"Oh … right … of course … I knew that …"**

**"Atem, you do know how to change a diaper, right?" Atem began to blush and Audrey got her answer. "It's nothing to be ashamed of, Atem; lots of men don't know how to change a diaper. C'mon, I'll show you." Audrey took Yugi out of Atem's arms and rested him against her shoulder. "This way." She said. This was the one thing Atem forgot to think about when he said he wanted to adopt Yugi.**

**---**

**A few days later, Social Services made a surprise visit to Atem's house. Fortunately, he was prepared for it and passed with flying colors. When I say he was prepared for it, I mean that he kept his brothers as far away as possible. Anyway, another week passed and due to the letters of recommendation from Bakura and his skills at law, Social Services approved Atem of adopting Yugi as soon as Dr. Manteuffel allowed him to be taken out of the hospital; which was on the day Yugi turned three months old. And so, on that day, Dr. Manteuffel helped Atem install the new car seat he had bought for Yugi after being told time and time again that he would need one. Once that was done, Atem went up to the nursery and saw Yugi so curiously looking around with a pacifier in his mouth and his tiny legs kicking in the air. The hospital gave Atem his first supply of baby formula, diapers for another two months, and the blue cap Yugi was given when he was born. He still only had a head full of fuzz, but it was clear as to what his hair would look like. Atem put the blue cap on the infant and wrapped him up in at least three blankets just to be safe. He wanted to go with at last five, but Manteuffel said '**_you don't want him to burn up just as much as you don't want him to freeze_**' so Atem settled on three. When Yugi was ready to be put in the car seat, Atem wasn't so sure about this whole backwards car seat thing, but Manteuffel told him that it was the safest way for a baby to travel. With that, Atem didn't argue. "Thank you for helping me, Doctor." Atem said. He and Manteuffel shook hands.**

**"No problem, Atem. Now, I'll give you a call in about two weeks to see how he's doing. If he's still alright by then, I'll give you the number of a pediatrician he could see." Atem smiled. He really did appreciate all the help.**

**"Thank you." And with that, Atem drove Yugi to his new home.**

**---**

_**End of Chapter.**_


	4. New Baby in the Family

_Sorry this took so long too, but I had to get at least one chapter of _Memories_ up before I updated this. This chapter is my holiday present for you, so happy holidays, everyone. Note: I used grandpa Moto in this chapter, but rememer, their last name is Darkling, and there's a reason why I didn't use Moto as the last name which will be revealed in later chapters. Anyway, for those of you who wanted to see Yugi go home, here you go!_

_---_

**Atem stepped into his house with his new son, Yugi. Yugi took a few seconds to look around. His vision was still a little fuzzy, but he could pretty much make out most of what was around him. He emitted a few noises while Atem made sure all of Yugi's bags were inside. Once everything was inside, Atem smiled and kneeled down in front of Yugi's car seat. "Welcome to your new home, Yugi." Yugi smiled and made a tiny giggle as Atem took him out of the car seat. The infant couldn't hold his own head just yet, so Atem allowed Yugi's head to rest on his shoulder; for another safety precaution, he held the back of the baby's head with his hand. **

**Giving Yugi a kiss, Atem started giving him a tour of his new home. All he did first was turn to the left. There really was nothing in this room; there was only a fine chair, an end table, and a piano along the far wall. "That's the family room, Yugi. I really don't know why I have it; I just use it as a place to put my mother's piano." He chuckled and turned to his right. "This is the special dinning room; I use this when my brothers and my parents come over for holidays." It was a nicely decorated room with a solid oak table that was already set like company was expected. The table came with matching chairs. There was also a china cabinet along the far wall.**

**Atem gave Yugi another kiss and walked through the rest of the entryway and into the living room. The living room was very big: he had a high definition plasma TV along the middle wall, a mantel and fireplace on the left wall, windows along the back wall with a suede couch in front of it, a Lazy Boy lounge chair between the fireplace and couch, and a coffee table in the middle. On the other side of the couch, a love seat, that matched the couch, was adjacent to it. Atem looked at the little baby in his arms, who was now sucking on his fist. "What do you think, Yugi?" Yugi burbled cutely. Atem chuckled and pat the baby's bottom with the hand that was supporting him. "Maybe you're right … I think I should redecorate."**

**Atem took a few more steps into his kitchen. "This is the kitchen … and this table is where we'll be eating." A dinning table, not as fancy as the other one, stood in front of the back door with chairs around it. Unlike the special dinning table, this one did not have a set up on it. A counter with an electric stove on top and drawers along the sides stood in the middle of the kitchen. Along the wall, under the windows, was the sink and dishwasher. Next to them was the refrigerator. They formed a curve to the connecting side wall and along that wall was the oven. The oven was the end of the kitchen appliances. A door was right next to the oven. Atem walked through that door. "This may seem a little strange, but this is more of a storage area then anything else. I do my laundry in here, and the pantry is in here as well." The washer and drier were both along the wall with the door. The pantry looked like a closet because it had double doors that needed to be pulled to open. There were soda bottles sitting on top of the drier. Another door next to the pantry led to the garage. "So Yugi, do you like it so far?" The baby didn't answer; he was too busy chewing on his fist to pay attention. Atem chuckled and walked out.**

**The wall that separated the special dinning room from the regular dinning room was actually stairs. They went one way, then with a triangle shaped step, turned the other way. Atem climbed those stairs, tightening his hold on Yugi. Once at the top, they came to another living room … well, sort of … "This is usually just another spare place to laze about, but it leads to our rooms too. This room had an older looking couch under more windows, with a coffee table, and an entertainment unit on the wall right next to a pair of double doors. Along the other wall was a computer system. **

**Atem walked into a room that was on the other side of the stairs. This was a child's room. Atem had spent the last month decorating it to make room for his new baby boy. The walls were panted a sky blue color with a wall paper stream of clouds along the top. A five drawer changing table was along the wall adjacent to the door. On the other side of the changing table was a walk – in closet filled with outfits for infant boys. The wall with the window had a big, plastic crib with a soft baby mattress and high walls. It had a rainbow mobile attached to the head of it. Next to the crib was an end table with a baby monitor on it. The wall with the door had a white dresser along it. Baby clothes, spit diapers, wipes, and powder were all there. "And this is your room, Yugi. I know I may have gone a little overboard, but I wanted you to have the best." And overboard he did go; for next to the end table was a smaller wall with a sink on it. A doorway was between that sink and the white dresser. Inside, was a small bathroom; more like only a toilet and a bathtub. In other words, Yugi had his own bathroom inside his room. After Yugi got a good look at the room, or what Atem thought was a good look since Yugi started drooling, he walked out.**

**There were also two more rooms to the right of Yugi's room: Atem's office and a spare bedroom, separated by a doorway to the attic, but Atem went left and didn't show Yugi those other two rooms. He walked through the spare living room to the double doors. "And this is my room." He opened the door to reveal the master bedroom, the biggest room in the house. He had a queen size bed, a giant large chest like dresser, to the right with a window in between that and a chair. Over to the left he had a night stand with an alarm clock a phone and a book. The other wall had his dresser and a door leading to another bathroom. Atem's bathroom was very fancy. He had a spa in there instead of a tub. Atem's house was amazing to any child from the ages of five through … any other age, but Yugi was only an infant, so none of this really mattered to him.**

**---**

**After the tour, Atem set Yugi in a basinet that he'd bought during that month. While the baby was safe in there, He decided to unpack Yugi's things; few clothes from the hospital, some bottles, and the only pacifier that Yugi would have. Atem thought he'd better get Yugi's things unpacked before his brothers came over and asked questions.**

**Suddenly, a loud screeching noise was heard and a car pulling into his drive way. The new father rolled his eyes. "Speak of the devil … and his younger brother …" Atem said. He suddenly remembered that Yugi was asleep downstairs in the basinet and his brothers could be pretty loud. He had to get to the door before they get in. Atem bolted out of Yugi's room and down the steps, but he wasn't fast enough. Just then, the other two members of the Darkling litter walked into the house.**

"**No, I did not sacrifice Mrs. Smitherson's cat to Satan in exchange for eternal youth!" Marik yelled. Atem cringed as he made it down the stairs and looked at the baby in the basinet. So far, Yugi continued to sleep.**

"**Oh please, she said she saw you in the back yard boiling something!" Atem tried quieting them down once again.**

"**Guys, please …!" Marik scuffed loudly.**

"**That woman is beyond paranoid! That cat died three years ago; she just wants to put me back in prison!"**

"**Guys …" Bakura threw his arms up in the air.**

"**She's not the only one, believe me!"**

"**You better watch it, 'Kura; there's a lot of tricks I learned during those three years I spent in Rikers!" **

"**_GUYS_!" Atem yelled, finally gaining the attention of his brothers. Both Marik and Bakura looked at him with confusion in their eyes.**

"**What's up, 'Tem?" Marik asked. Atem opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of an infant crying. Upon hearing that crying, Marik and Bakura looked at each other and then back at Atem, who rolled his eyes.**

"**Now you guys did it; you woke him up!" He ran into the living room to see to his son. The two brothers followed him, gasping when they saw what was in the basinet.**

"**That's a baby!" Atem picked Yugi up with one hand around his tiny waist and the other supporting the back of his neck.**

"**Very good, Bakura!" He said sarcastically. Bakura glared at his second older brother while Marik walked over to observe the baby. After a few minutes of standing there, Marik used his pointer finger to poke Yugi in the tummy, causing the baby to giggle and kick his legs.**

"**Squishy." Yugi looked at his new uncles with fascination in his eyes. Marik kept poking him, getting on Atem's nerves. The second of the litter pushed Marik off balance.**

"**Stop it, you idiot!" Bakura took a few steps closer to see the newborn in his brother's arms.**

"**How's it he looks exactly like you, I thought you adopted him."**

"**I did, I guess it's just a coincidence. Guys, I want you to meet your nephew, Yugi," Marik and Bakura smiled a little bit, "Yugi, these are your new uncles: Uncle Marik, and Uncle Bakura." Bakura looked at Atem in the eye.**

"**Now there's a phrase I never thought I'd hear." Atem chuckled. In his arms, Yugi looked at his new uncles and smiled the most adorable smile, that Marik knew his tough, dark, hard … 'ghetto' heart. He actually thought he felt tears form in his eyes at that smile.**

"**I can't take this anymore, GIVE HIM TO ME!" Marik snatched the child from Atem's arms and cradled him in his own.**

"**How come he's so small?" Bakura asked. When he looked over at Atem, he saw the depressed look in his eyes.**

"**Because of his premature birth … because of that, he's got a number of disorders."**

"**Like what? Maybe I can help you with your insurance."**

"**Well, he has attention deficit, dyslexia"---**

**---"Anything considering health insurance?" Atem exhaled a breath.**

"**Asthma, allergies, Hemophilia, Juvenile Diabetes, his brain damage, and maybe some things in the future.**

"**He's only a few months old and you already know he has Hemophilia and diabetes?" Atem sadly nodded.**

"**He was born with those disorders … raising him is going to be a challenge …" Bakura placed a reassuring hand on his brother's shoulder.**

"**Hey, we'll help ya." Both of them looked at Marik, talking baby talk and kissing Yugi all over the face. The baby just giggled. Both Atem and Bakura chuckled at the scene. "Besides, can't be any worse then raisin' Marik." Atem chuckled and nodded in agreement. The oldest of the litter didn't even stop to threaten his younger brothers. He was having so much fun playing with his new baby nephew.**

**---**

**Later that day, Atem was cooking dinner while Bakura watched TV and Marik played with Yugi. They were expecting their parents to come over later to meet Yugi as well. When Atem mentioned that he had adopted a child, his mother screamed in excitement that the new father had to literally hold the phone away from his ear just to keep his hearing. Their mother had always wanted to be a grandmother, and had quite a number of times tried to set her sons up on dates so they would get married and give her a grandchild. Even though Atem wasn't married, he knew his mother would still be happy just to have at least one grandchild. **

**Atem was in the kitchen, cooking stake for dinner. They were gonna eat in the special dinning room. Marik was now laying on the love seat with Yugi sleeping on his chest. Bakura was sitting on the couch, drinking a beer. Suddenly, Yugi started to scrunch up his nose and squirmed on Marik's chest. Then he started to cry out. "What's the matter with you?" Marik asked. Atem put the finishing seasonings on the stake then walked over and picked Yugi up.**

**"He's hungry; that's his '_I'm hungry, feed me now_' cry." Marik got up to get a beer from the refrigerator.**

**"He's all yours, bro." Atem rolled his eyes. Luckily, he'd been preparing a bottle for Yugi while he was cooking everyone else's dinner. Yugi cried until he felt the rubber nipple touch his lips. His infant reflexes kicked in as he opened his mouth to eat his food. Atem sat next to Bakura who was watching a football game on TV. He and Marik liked to watch football all the time. Atem was the only on who didn't find anything interesting in the blood sport. When the bottle was only about half empty, Yugi refused to drink any more. Atem placed the bottle on the coffee table and the baby on his shoulder. He remembered that Yugi liked having his back rubbed instead of patted so he rubbed the baby's back. Soon, the child let out a tiny belch and giggled.**

**"I really hope you enjoyed that … you spit up a bit on one of my best shirts." Yugi giggled again as Atem kissed the boy's cheek and whipped his shirt then the baby's mouth. Suddenly, both Bakura and Marik stood up screaming: **

"**_TOUCH DOWN_!" and cheering loudly. Yugi screamed as well, but more in a crying matter then a cheering matter. Both brothers looked at the baby while Atem gave them a '_now you've done it_' look.**

"**What's the matter now?" Atem got up and put Yugi in his basinet.**

"**He doesn't like loud noises and you scared him when you screamed like that."**

"**Hey sorry, little Man; won't happen again." Marik said while going up to the basinet and tickling Yugi's tiny feet. The infant obviously forgave him by the way he giggled.**

**Just then, the doorbell rang. "Uh oh, better protect the baby from Grandma." Bakura said. Atem just rolled his eyes as he went to answer the door.**

"**You're an idiot!" He said.**

"**Hey, I got a fourteen – fifty on my SAT's!" Marik stood in the middle of the room with Yugi in his arms.**

"**Twelve – fifty, you pathological liar." Bakura glared at him.**

"**Damn, forgot you were here …" Atem rolled his eyes again and opened the door. The brothers' parents, Solomon and Eleanor Darkling stood in the doorway.**

"**Hello, Mom" ---**

"**No small talk; where is he?" Eleanor asked as she walked in past Atem, who didn't even protest against it.**

"**Won't you come in, Mother …" Solomon chuckled and entered the house as well.**

"**Don't feel bad, m'boy. She's just excited and wants to see the baby. Now, where is my new grandson?" Atem smiled when a squeal was heard. Both Solomon and his middle son walked into the living room to join the rest of the family.**

"**Oh, aren't you the most adorable thing I've ever seen!" She stole Yugi right from Marik's arms.**

"**Mother!"**

"**Hush, Marik; do not sass your mother when she's holding her grandchild!" Marik's bottom lip started to quiver.**

"**Yes'm …" Solomon and Atem both walked up to Eleanor to see Baby Yugi trying to figure out who the crazy lady was.**

"**Mom, Dad, this is your grandson, Yugi; Yugi, this is your grandmother and grandfather." Atem introduced. Yugi looked at the woman who was holding him again and saw the smile on her face, causing him to squeal with delight and smile as well.**

"**What a cute little thing … he looks just like you when you were a baby, Atem." Solomon said.**

"**I know dad, but they did a genetics test on him and genes don't lie; he's not mine. He may look like me, but he's not mine. It's jut a coincidence." Eleanor tickled Yugi on the tummy and he kicked his legs and giggled again.**

"**You are just the sweetest little baby! I'm going to make your cookies, and take care of you when you're sick, and …" She said, carrying him up the stairs.**

"**Uh, Mom, where are you taking him?"**

"**For a diaper change, dear!" She called from upstairs. Solomon looked at his three sons and tried to ignore the fact that all four of them could hear Eleanor talking to the baby from even though Atem's house was sound proof.**

"**So, who's hungry?" He asked, trying to break the silence.**

**---**

_**End of Chapter**_


	5. Babies are Hard to Take Care of

_Once again, sorry this took so long, but I'm writting about three stories at one time right now. I just started with_ 'New Changes' _and_ 'Scientifically in Love'_. Hopefully I can have all three updated by the end of the week. Alright, here's some more Baby Yugi for everyone to say 'aaaawwwww!' to._

---

Yugi giggled with ease as he was entertained by the new baby gym that his new grandma and grandpa had bought for him. His tiny legs kicked and he discovered that when they his something, funny sounds were made. Music played to occupy the baby's mind as well. The happy baby boy couldn't care about anything in the world right now. He was having fun. So much fun that he started to squeal a few times. The rest of the family sat in the living room, watching Yugi have the time of his little life with the new baby gym. Apparently, he loved all the sounds it made. Atem sat on the couch, smiling at the adorable scene. Next to him were his Mother and Bakura. Marik and his Father were on the love seat. "So Atem dear, where are you going to take him while you're at work during the day?" Eleanor Asked. Atem took a sip of the soda he had in his hand.

"Mother, didn't I tell you? I've been working from home for the longest time now. I can take care of Yugi while I'm sitting at my desk." Eleanor had a sad look on her face for some reason.

"Oh … well, I was going to offer to baby sit him while you were at work." Atem smiled. His mother really wanted to coddle her grandson to death.

"Mom, believe me, I will let him visit you often." Bakura took a sip of the beer he had before speaking.

"Besides Mom, you've already raised three kids. Let Atem make his own mistakes."

"Bakura!"

"What? I'm just sayin' that I didn't bust my ass to help you get custody of this kid for Mom to be the one raising him."

"Mom won't be the one raising him … I will." The five occupants of the room looked at Yugi as he squealed in delight of his new toy. "Ra bless you guys for giving that to him. Now he has something to occupy him so that he doesn't scream for my attention constantly." Suddenly, as if he had planned it, Yugi started crying unexpectedly and looked around for anyone who would pay attention to him.

"So much for that theory." Marik said with a smirk. Atem sighed and went to go pick Yugi up. Atem could tell the difference in Yugi's cries, and this was his '_pay attention to me_' cry. He moved the baby gym to a corner of the room and picked the tiny baby up in his arms, supporting Yugi's head with his hand while the baby's fists took hold of Atem's shirt. "Hey there, it's alright shh … I'm right here … shh …" He walked back over to his spot on the couch and moved Yugi so that he was holding him horizontally in his arms. Yugi looked up at his new father and smiled a bright smile Atem chuckled and rubbed his nose gently against Yugi's tiny one. The baby's fist caught a lock of Atem's hair and he yanked a bit. "Ow, ow, ow, ow!" Yugi giggled when Atem cried out in pain and surprise. "Yugi, ouch, let go of Daddy's hair … let go of Daddy's hair!" Atem had to peel the blond lock out of the infant's soft hand in order for him to let go. The baby just continued to giggle. Solomon stood up and stretched.

"Well, I think we've overstayed our welcome; shall we go, Eleanor?" The woman smiled.

"Alright Honey, just let me say good – bye to Yugi one more time." Eleanor practically snatched Yugi out of Atem's arms and held him in her arms. "Good bye, my Sweet Little Yugi." She gave him a nice big kiss on the forehead, leaving a lip marks caused by her lipstick. Marik just laughed as did Bakura Atem slapped his face with his hand.

"Mom, do you mind!" Eleanor chuckled.

"Oh, let me get that." She licked her thumb and rubbed Yugi's skin until the lipstick came off. Unfortunately, the baby didn't like the hard rubbing he felt on his head and screamed for Atem to come and rescue him.

"He's tired, Mom. I'm going to give him a bath and then go to bed." Suddenly, Yugi started to cough frequently. It was a very lose cough that one would normally hear in newborn babies. "Oh no … what's going on, why is he coughing!" Eleanor put her hand on Yugi's tummy and started to rub. Shortly after, Yugi's coughing seemed to stop. Atem just looked at his mother with confused eyes.

"Babies cough, Atem. You're not going to jump every time he does, are you? It's probably nothing." She gave Yugi back to Atem while saying goodbye to her other two sons. After the parents were gone, Atem looked at his brothers.

"It's late …" Bakura and Marik looked at each other. Atem smirked. "Let me put this in terms you'll both understand … GET OUT!" Yugi wined at hearing the harsh tone.

Once Marik and Bakura were gone, Atem sat down on the couch with little Yugi in his arms. Yugi was squirming quite a lot, but not in a bad way. The boy was only discovering the movements his body could make. Atem watched him open and close his tiny fingers and his tiny pink tongue would dart in and out every now and then. Yugi's legs would stretch out a little bit at a time, as well as his arms. Atem couldn't help but laugh at this adorable sight. "You are just the cutest thing!" The baby smiled at the comment, turning his head to look at whatever he could find. Far away shapes were still hard to make out, but close shapes were taking form. He made soft baby noises, occasionally yelling because he was so happy. Atem just couldn't take his eyes off of the infant. He loved to watch this child explore everything around him. "Yugi, look at me, little one." Atem said as he caressed Yugi's cheek with his finger. Yugi's face turned and encouraged Atem to keep doing this. Yugi's chubby smile made him smile as well. Atem started to rock the infant, not stopping the caressing. Soon, Yugi's eyes began to droop and a minute later, the baby was asleep.

---

Later in the night, at 3:33 am, actually, Atem was startled by the sound of screaming. He moaned and tried to ignore the infant, hoping he would go back to sleep. But Yugi's cries just seemed to get worse as the minutes passed. Giving up, Atem slowly dragged himself out of his bed. He wore red boxer pajama pants and no shirt. The screaming was starting to get on his nerves, and he almost fell down the stairs.

He entered Yugi's room and reached into the crib to pick the child up. Yugi's cries still didn't stop, even when he knew he was being held. Slowly, Atem moved down to the kitchen and reached into the refrigerator for a bottle of formula that his mother had made earlier. He placed it in the microwave and waited for two minutes and shushed Yugi a few times before it was ready.

He then walked lazily over to the couch, moved Yugi across his arms and placed the bottle at his lips. Yugi's cries stopped the minute he felt food touch his lips. Atem leaned his head back against the couch. "Finally, some quiet." Well, that wasn't exactly accurate. Yugi would moan and make suckling noises as he drank from the bottle. While Atem was sleepy and perhaps a little grouchy, Yugi was wide awake and playful. The baby purposely hit Atem's face with his fist and smiled when Atem's startled eyes looked at him, with the nipple still in his mouth. "Yugi, that's enough. Finish this, and we can go back to bed." But Yugi was done way before he said that, trying to push the bottle away. Seeing this, Atem pulled the bottle away and placed the baby on his shoulder and rubbed his back. Yugi couldn't care less about burping. He was wide awake. Atem on the other hand, was getting sleepier by the second, just by having this child's warm, soft body in his arms and against his chest. Eventually, Yugi let out a little sound, letting Atem know that he was full. Atem stood up, patting Yugi's bottom while he walked up the stairs.

Once in Yugi's room, Atem set the baby in his crib and kissed him on the forehead. "Good night, Yugi." Just as the young man turned off the light and closed the door, Yugi let out a loud scream. Atem came rushing back in. "What, what is it?" Yugi didn't answer. He just cried. Atem ran his hand down his face. "I'm never going to get to sleep this way." He reached down and picked the small baby up. Once he did, Yugi automatically stopped crying. Atem looked down at Yugi with a curious look. The baby responded by giggling. "Don't tell me you just want to be held …" Yugi giggled again, causing his new father to sigh. "Alright, let's go in my room." So Atem walked into his own room, carrying the baby in his arms.

A few minutes later, Atem was lying on his bed with Yugi on top of his chest. The baby was sucking on a pacifier and moaning from time to time. Atem gave a small cough. When he did, Yugi raised his fuzzy head up a little bit, looking at Atem in the eyes. The new father chuckled at seeing this. "Well, you finally learned to hold your own head up." Yugi cooed happily, bouncing up and down. Atem smiled and kissed the baby on the forehead. "I'm very proud of you, but now it's time to go to sleep." Using his hand, he placed Yugi's head back on his chest and the two of them fell asleep.

---

The next morning, after Atem gave Yugi and himself some breakfast, Atem was working on his computer in his upstairs office all day. He had Yugi lying on the floor on top of a blanket while playing with some toys. Apparently, the baby's favorite toy was a small, foam ball that he could chew on. He held the ball in his tiny hands and chewed on it for a while. Atem smiled, hearing Yugi's happy coos. Suddenly, Atem's Email sounded. He opened the note:

_Meeting today in the Conference Room, be there, or be fired!_

Atem cringed. He hadn't planned on there being a surprise meeting today; he had no one to take care of Yugi. He'd call his brothers, but Bakura was at work, and he didn't trust Marik to be alone with the baby just yet. His mother and father were out visiting friends, and Atem didn't know anyone else. Marik was his only choice. He picked up the cordless phone and dialed Bakura's number. The phone rang for a few seconds before Marik answered.

"_Marik's crib, who dis_?" Atem rolled his eyes.

"Marik, it's me.

"'_Tem, wuzz up, Li'l Bro_?" Atem cringed at hearing the way Marik was talking.

"I hope to Ra that you're sober because I have a favor to ask of you."

"_Well, whadda want_?" Atem bit his lip. Seriously, he really hoped Marik was sober right now. He didn't want to leave his new son alone with a drunken man … especially if it's Marik.

"C – Could you please … watch Yugi for a little while? I've got a meeting to get to, and you're my only hope."

"Hmm; 'kay, I'll do it; just 'cuz that kid is so damn cute." Atem let out a breath that he didn't even know he was holding.

"You wouldn't happen to know what time Bakura gets home from work, do you?"

"_He's off today; sum'm 'bout it bein' a legal holiday. I thought it was bull, but it got him the day off, that's for sure._" Atem took the phone away from his ear and placed it on his chest, looking up at the sky. '_Thank you_.' He whispered softly.

"Well, then could you ask him to come along too? There's pizza and beer in it for him if he does."

"_Hold on, I'll ask_." Atem waited for about a second before he heard, "_'KURA, WANNA GO TA 'TEM'S AND BABYSIT!_" He yelled. Atem held the phone away from his ear. He could hear Bakura in the background yelling something back to Marik, but couldn't quite make out what it was. After a few moments of silence, he placed the phone back to his ear just in time to hear Marik yell out, "_UP YOURS TOO!_" Atem rubbed his ear, making sure his eardrum still worked. "_Yeah, he'll come along too_."

"Fine, be here in the next few minutes." Without so much as a goodbye, Atem hung up the phone and looked at Yugi. The boy was still chewing on the small ball, having the time of his little life. Something in Atem's heart broke; he didn't want to leave Yugi this early. It hurt him so much having to leave him. Wait, he was starting to think like a moody woman. It was only for about three hours or so. But Yugi was a very fragile child. Something could go wrong. "No, Bakura would call me if something did go wrong …"

---

This meeting seemed to last forever. Sure, he got a few breaks here and there, and he used those few minutes to call up Bakura and Marik to check on Yugi, but he just couldn't focus. He had a feeling like something was wrong. It was a feeling he held in his heart.

---

At Atem's house, Yugi screamed while Marik paced back and forth, trying to calm him down. Bakura covered his ears with his hands. "Oh, make it stop!"

"I'm tryin', but he won't shut up!" Yugi's screams were getting worse. His face was red and he wouldn't eat anything. "Hey 'Kura, I think something's wrong."

"No shit, Sherlock!" Bakura put his hand on the baby's head. "Damn, he's hot. Maybe we should take his temperature." Marik looked at his youngest brother like he was crazy.

"I'm not doin' it, do you know where that goes?" Bakura groaned and took Yugi into his arms.

"Fine, I'll do it. Sheesh, sometimes I think you're a bigger baby then he is!" Bakura found the thermometer and gently placed it into Yugi's bottom, causing the baby to scream even louder. It was obvious that he wanted his daddy. When Bakura heard the beep, he took out the thermometer and Yugi's cries became tiny hiccups. "102.3 … he's got a fever, wuddo we do?" Marik shrugged.

"We could call 'Tem and tell him that the kid's sick, or we could just try to make him feel better ourselves." Bakura placed Yugi on his hip and held him sideways.

"And you know how to make a baby feel better?"

"Yeah, it's called '_Aspirin_'." Bakura slapped his face with his hand.

"No, that's called '_murder'_!" Marik flinched when Bakura raised his voice. When he did, Yugi screamed even louder.

"Give him to me, you scare him!" Bakura sighed.

"I'm calling Mom!"

---

A few hours later, Atem was able to make it home. He didn't bother to make his presence known. He wanted to see how his brothers were doing, babysitting their new nephew for the first time. He found Marik and Bakura trying to get Yugi to take some medicine. "C'mon, open wide, it's not that bad." Marik said, holding a spoonful of red liquid. Yugi's face looked like he was about ready to cry, but he only whimpered. Bakura sighed.

"This isn't working."

"Maybe this will: here comes the airplane!" Marik said, moving the spoon around. Yugi just looked at it, but didn't react.

"Oh please, you really think tha" --- Bakura said, getting interrupted when Marik forced the spoon into his mouth while he was talking. Yugi turned around to Bakura, who had a disgusted look on his face. Atem only snickered, watching the scene. Marik chuckled evilly.

"And he's waiting for his Uncle Bakura to swallow." The oldest of the trio said. Bakura forced a smile on his face while he looked at Yugi, reluctantly … very reluctantly swallowing the medicine. He did however keep the smile on his face while he said the following.

"This stuff is terrible!" Atem clapped his hands, surprising the other two.

"Very entertaining, Fellas." Both turned around in surprise to see their middle brother laughing at them. Yugi recognized Atem and held out his arms, begging to be held by his father.

"Aaaa!" Yugi whined. Atem walked over and picked up the baby. Yugi rested his head on his father's shoulder, sneezing and coughing. Atem held a hand to Yugi's forehead and gasped.

"He has a fever; what have you idiots been doing to him!"

"Hey, he woke up with that fever; we were tryin' ta lower it!" Marik stated. Bakura nodded.

"I called Mom and she said to give him some cough medicine." Atem exhaled loudly.

"Mom still thinks raw stake can lower swelling after being hit!" Atem quickly took Yugi out of the outfit he was wearing in order to lower his temperature. Unfortunately, it didn't do much. "I can't believe this; I knew I should have trusted you imbeciles with him, I'd feel sorry for any child that might have to suffer with the two of you as their fathers!" Marik just snickered at that.

"I've probably got about three or four out there somewhere." Atem looked at his older brother with a weird look.

"Ra, I hope you're kidding." Marik just snickered in response. Yugi started to cough even harder now. Even though Atem had him in only his diaper, the child's temperature seemed to be rising. "Guys, I have to take him to the hospital; I don't know what else to do!"

"I'll come with ya, incase they try ta con ya outta your money." Bakura said. Soon, the three of them had gotten into Bakura's car and left. Atem didn't feel like driving right now. He just wanted to hold Yugi and let him know that he was there for him.

---

_End of Chapter_


	6. Problems Start

_Okay, this chapter may be a little confusing because of the amount of time that I skipped. Believe me, I wanted to spend so much time on Baby Yugi, but I've already spent way too much time with him as an infant, but now I have to move on. So, Remember that by the late middle, Yugi will be a year and a half, or simply put, eighteen months._

_---_

The Darkling Triplets, as they were called in childhood, drove to St. John's Mercy Hospital as fast as they could. At a red light, Bakura and Marik switched places, with Marik snickering and calling out "Chinese fire drill!" during the process. Now he was the driver, speeding by doing 75 mph in a 40 zone. When they reached the hospital, Atem ran out of the car, Yugi clutched to his chest while Bakura had to use his knowledge of law to talk Marik's way out of a ticket.

Atem ran to the Emergency Room desk. The lady that had been there the day he found Yugi was there. Trying to catch his breath, Atem began to speak. "Please … my son is sick …" The ditzy, blonde nurse blinked.

"… Again?" Atem leaned in close to her face with a look of murder in his eyes.

"Yes, again!" To prove this, Yugi coughed and started to whine. The lady called one of the nurses, who took Yugi away from Atem, despite his reluctance. He could hear his baby boy crying for him all the way in the other room. Tears were streaming down Atem's face. His child had never been sick before, and he didn't know what to do.

After a while, he started to fill out the forms the lady at the desk had given him. Bakura and Marik were somewhere in the hospital, either causing trouble, or in the cafeteria … causing trouble. In order to keep his thoughts from going haywire, he tried to amuse himself by playing a few games he'd downloaded on his cell phone, but everything just reminded him that Yugi was sick and needed him. He started pacing around the waiting room, nibbling on his nails out of anxiety. Already, it'd been three hours; shouldn't someone have said something about Yugi yet?

Finally, about four hours later, Dr. Manteuffel called Atem's name. "Atem, can I talk to you for a second?" Atem dashed out of his seat and began to walk with the doctor down the hall.

---

"How is he?" Manteuffel sighed.

"Remember how I said that his immune system was very weak?" Atem nodded. "Well, now it's even weaker … it seems he's caught a form of the _West Nile Virus_."

"**_WEST NILE_**?" People who were around them stopped and stared at Atem when he yelled.

"Shh … I said it was a form of _West Nile_. Good thing you brought him in now so that he could get the proper treatment. If you didn't things would have progressively gotten worse. Usually, people don't know that they have it and think it's just the Flu; when they find out, it's too late." He looked through the glass at the child in the plastic crib. "Good thing it wasn't too sever … we're going to have to quarantine him for forty – eight hours, though."

"No!" The doctor looked at Atem with surprise. The young man glared at his child's doctor. "No, I want to be with him now!"

"But Atem, he needs the treatment first!"

"Give him the treatment, and then let me see him. I refuse to go two days without holding my son!" Manteuffel sighed. He knew that even though the two were not blood, Atem cared more for Yugi then most of the other parents he'd seen.

"Fine, we'll give you a vaccine and quarantine you with him." Atem nodded. If Yugi had to be quarantined, then Atem would be right beside him. Manteuffel led him to one of the labs to get the vaccine and then change out of his clothes and into a hospital gown. Atem entered the quarantine chamber and saw his small son in the plastic crib, crying. That was his '_hold me_' cry. It was as if he knew Atem was right there and wanted his father to hold him right then and there. Atem walked over and looked into the crib before picking him up.

"Shh … it's alright, Yugi … I'm right here …" He gently picked the baby up and rocked him in the rocker that was in the room. "Shh …" Yugi's cries softened to whimpers and hiccups before stopping all together. Atem wanted to bring Yugi's panda bear stuffed animal, but Manteuffel said that while he was quarantined, it was strictly prohibited. But, there were other, safe toys in there for him to play with. Even though Yugi still had a fever of 103.6, he still smiled and chewed on some of the toys in that were in the crib with him.

Atem cradled the boy in his arms. He sat him upright on his arm, while Yugi continued to chew on the ear of a stuffed rabbit. A little while later, Yugi's lilac irises looked directly into Atem's rose colored ones. It was like the infant was asking his new father to take the pain away. Atem smiled sadly and kissed Yugi on the forehead while he repositioned the baby in a laying pose in his arms. "I'm so sorry, Little One … but there's nothing more I can do … I with there was …" Yugi started to whine a bit, but when Atem tightened his embrace, the whining stopped. Soon, the young man began to caress the infant's cheek, knowing how much he liked it. In response, Yugi nuzzled it while emitting a soft yawn.

---

Soon, dinner was served. Atem was able to eat whatever the cafeteria was serving while Yugi was fed with a bottle of the most nutritious formula that St. John's Mercy carried. Atem loved feeding Yugi. He loved hearing the soft moans and suckling noises Yugi made whenever he was enjoying his liquid food.

Suddenly, a knock on the glass window caused Atem to look up. He saw his two brothers waving at him. Bakura pointed to the phone hanging on the wall and signaled Atem to go to it. He did so after putting Yugi back into the plastic crib. "How ya holdin' up?" Bakura asked. Atem smiled and shrugged.

"It's alright; as long as I'm with Yugi, I'm not complaining." Marik snickered.

"Now ya know what it was like for me in Rikers!" Atem rolled his eyes.

"I think it's a little different from Rikers, Marik. For instance, I'm not the one under constant watch, and if I drop some soap, no trauma comes afterward." Bakura cackled loudly and pointed at Marik, knowing how much it bugged his oldest brother when he did that. Atem smiled; it was lonely in this small room without his brothers to talk to. "So what are you boneheads up to?"

"Oh well, I was busy pickin' up some new clients here, while _some_ of us were wandering around, mixing up people's medications!" Bakura said, looking at Marik. The oldest of the triplets shrugged innocently. Atem chuckled; that was so like Marik.

"New clients? How'd you pull that off in a hospital?" Bakura sassed for a few seconds before answering.

"You'd be surprised at how many patients here are victims of accidents, so I convinced them that they needed good lawyers like me to represent them." Atem nodded while he listened.

"Wow, finally a place where your profession has an upside look at things." Marik harshly slapped Bakura on the back.

"Yeah, every time ya announce it in a bar, ya clear the whole place out! It's a turn off!" Atem and Marik had a good laugh with that one.

"Hardy har har, at least I've got money, ya oversized gorilla!" Marik shrugged.

"But it never gets ya laid!" Atem and Marik both laughed. Suddenly, Yugi started to fuss again.

"Well, as much fun as this has been, duty calls." Bakura nodded.

"Peace out; and don't go gettin' sick or I'll have ta auction off yer house!" With that, both left the middle Darkling Brother with his child.

"Hey, is everything alright, Yugi?" The child spotted his father and giggled, even though his face was still boiling. Atem picked him up and brought him over to the small hospital bed in the corner of the room. He knew Yugi would want to snuggle before they both gave in to sleep. He lay down with Yugi on his chest while he rubbed the boy's back with his left hand and kept support with his right. With a pacifier in his mouth, Yugi would sleep like that through the rest of the night.

---

The next morning, tests were done on both Atem and Yugi. Yugi had more tests since he was the one with the virus. They just had to make sure that he didn't pass it on to Atem. Once the tests were done, Atem watched a little TV while Yugi was spread out on the floor with a blanket, chewing on a stuffed animal and talking to himself, making Atem chuckle.

Soon, a knock on the door was heard, and Dr. Manteuffel entered. Atem turned off the TV and picked Yugi up. "Well, the tests all came out negative, which means that neither of you are infected anymore, so that's good news."

"So then we get to go home?" Manteuffel chuckled and shook his head.

"Not quite, you still have a few more hours, just to make sure that the virus is completely gone." Atem groaned. He didn't know how much longer he'd be able to last in this small room.

"Can't we at least walk around the hospital for a little while?"

"I'm sorry, Atem, but that's strictly forbidden while you're quarantined. We can't risk an outbreak."

"But you said that we weren't infected anymore!"

"Even the smallest virus cell can grow into an outbreak; how do you think the Black Plague started?" Sighing again, Atem decided to drop the subject.

---

The next day, after more tests were done, Yugi was officially deemed '_cured_' and was able to go home. From that point on, things were rough, but for the most part, went smoothly. About three months later, Yugi learned to crawl, and with some speed to boot. Atem had to buy baby gates to keep Yugi out of the places that he didn't want the baby to get into like the basement, or his office.

Two months later, he learned to stand, and soon after, to walk … more like jogging. His tiny feet moved so fast, you'd think he had a motor for them or something. He gained some weight and height, but not much. He was still a small child, even though he was ten months old. It wasn't long until Yugi was putting syllables together until he formed his first word: '_cookie_'. Atem was hoping it would be '_daddy_', but as long as Yugi was growing and learning, he was happy. The child that was once premature now had the most energy of anyone on the planet. Marik was the one who usually played with him the most. Bakura liked to play every once in a while, but Marik was the fun uncle. The one thing Yugi loved was juice; all kinds of juice: apple, orange, grape, fruit, or even the ever sour, pineapple. But it always had to be one hundred percent juice, not that ten percent crap. Yes, things were going great … until Yugi hit the age of eighteen months. That's when problems started to arise.

**---**

One day, Yugi was playing in the sandbox at the park. Atem was sitting on the bench, reading a parenting book, while still keeping an eye on his energetic son. Bakura was working on some long over due paper work and Marik was bugging some of the other kids. Suddenly, Yugi suddenly began to feel a little bit woozy and started to whine, hoping his father would hear him. Atem was so engrossed in his book, that he didn't even see Yugi get up and wander off.

When the dizzy spell had gone away, Yugi looked up, realizing that he didn't know where he was or what he'd been doing. "Daddy?" He called. He'd been to the park many times before, but for some reason, he couldn't figure out where he was. "Daddy!" Yugi started to walk around, not knowing where he was going. The little boy was very scared and didn't know what to do, so he did the only thing that came to his mind, "DADDY!" He screamed. Yugi sat down and began to cry. "I want my Daddy …" He continued to cry until a shadow covered his tiny form. It was a man … a man with a shadowy face that held a greedy smirk.

"Aw, what's the matter, Little Boy?" Yugi sniffled.

"I can't find my Daddy …" The smirk on the man's face continued to grow.

"Well, why don't we see if we can go find him?" Yugi never noticed the lust that dripped from the man's words. He only nodded and took the man's hand.

---

Atem finally set his book down and looked over at his younger brother. "I'm hungry, wanna get something to eat?" Bakura scribbled something on a paper and took his glasses off.

"Yeah, I could use something that'll clog my arteries. Whadda think, McDonald's?"

"Sounds good to me; what do you think, Yugi?" There was no answer. "Yugi?" Atem stood up and looked around, noticing that his son was nowhere to be found. "Yugi!" Marik ran up to his two brothers with a hand full of bouncy balls, yoyos, army men, and other small toys.

"What's going on?" Atem was starting to hyperventilate.

"Yugi's missing!" Bakura put his files down and stood up.

"Where'd he go?"

"I don't know, but we have to find him!" Bakura nodded.

"I'll take the lake, you check over by the swing set, and Marik, you take the pathway." All three triplets nodded and went in their own ways yelling out '_Yugi, where are you_'as they did.

Atem was getting even more scared by the second. Not knowing where his baby boy was was driving him insane. "Yugi, speak to me!" He yelled. Nothing; he was so scared now. Marik, Atem, and Bakura all met up at the bathrooms. "He couldn't have gone far, his legs are too small." Bakura said.

"But what if he saw something that caught his attention? You know how curious that child is!" Marik said. Suddenly, they heard voices coming from beyond the bathrooms.

"Just do what I say, Brat!" A small cry was heard afterward. The triplets went to see what was going on. When they did, the most horrific scene Atem had ever … seen was in front of him.

"**_YUGI!_**" The boy was naked, trapped under a very tall, not too bright man. Atem elbowed the man right on the spinal cord, causing him to roll off of Yugi. "**_GET AWAY FROM MY SON!_**" Atem quickly picked Yugi up and wrapped him in his jacket. The man was now pissed off.

"I'll show you ta mess with me!" He was about to pounce when he was grabbed at the collar by Marik.

"I wouldn't do that; for you see, that's my nephew ya were hurtin', and I'd do anything to protect him." The man snarled.

"Like what?" Marik just snickered, never letting go of the man's collar.

"You see, I've been known to be some what of a cannibal …" The man's eyes widened and he wiggled his way out of Marik's grip and ran. "Get back here, you bastard!" Marik yelled, running after the man.

Yugi clutched Atem's shirt with his tiny hands. "Want Daddy … want Daddy …" He kept repeating. Atem held his son closer to him.

"It's alright, Yugi, I'm here now …" Yugi looked up with tears in his eyes. Seeing those tears made Atem want to cry, but he had to be strong for his baby boy.

"Daddy!" Yugi and Atem clutched each other like there was no tomorrow. Yugi continued to cry while Atem whispered sweet nothings to him, trying to calm him down. He looked at Bakura who was looking at his small nephew with the most sympathy in his eyes.

"Bakura," the man answered to his name, "Call the police, and report a rape." Bakura nodded and took out his cell phone.

---

Later that night, The Darkling Clan ended up in the hospital yet again. Marik had eventually caught the man who violated his nephew and gave him to the cops. Of course, it was not without a little quarrel between the ex – con and the police officers. Now, all three triplets sat in the waiting room to wait for the results of Yugi's rape. The three of them sat in silence, wondering how anyone could do that sort of thing to a child, especially a child who had already been through so much in less then a year. The waiting was beginning to drive Atem crazy. "I'm a terrible father …" He mumbled.

"No you're not; one setback doesn't make you a bad dad." Marik said. Atem looked like he wasn't even listening. Tears were streaming down his face.

"But I should have kept a better eye on him … he was right in front of me … I took my eyes off of him for one second … and then this happened …" Bakura placed a hand on his brother's shoulder.

"These things happen. You'd be surprised how many rape cases I represent all the time." Atem looked at him for a second.

"Any with children?" Bakura had to think for a second.

"Well … … no," Atem exhaled loudly, "But I've heard from others how much it hurts when they see kids like that."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better, because it's not doing a very good job!"

"The point is that it could have been worse."

"Like what?" Bakura shrugged.

"We could've been too late …" Atem's hands wrapped tightly around Bakura's neck, cutting off his air supply.

"Bite your tongue!" Bakura started to make choking sounds.

"He is tight, though." Marik said. Atem looked at him without removing his hands from Bakura's throat. "We're lucky we even got there when we did. Maybe we're jumping to conclusions and nothing even happened before we got there."

"What are you talking about? He was naked when we found him!"

"True, but we probably stopped him right before he got a chance to do anything." Atem stared at Marik for a second. For the first time in … forever, his older brother was making sense. Bakura tapped Atem's arm, gaining his attention.

"Air, air!"

"Oh, sorry." Atem finally let go of Bakura's throat. He inhaled deeply. Finally, Manteuffel called Atem's name.

"Atem, can I speak with you?"

---

Both the doctor and the game illustrator walked down the halls. "First of all, let me say that no rape took place." Atem sighed in relief.

"Thank God …"

"Now, may I ask how this all came about?"

"Well, we were having a day at the park, and he wandered off …"

"That's what I thought." Atem blinked.

"What do you mean?" Manteuffel sighed.

"Remember last year when I told you that Yugi's brain damage wasn't sever, but was still there, and it would have effect on his memory?" Atem nodded.

"Yes …"

"Well, we did some tests on his brainwaves, and it turns out that the damage caused to him in the womb is starting to show. We asked him if he remembered what he was doing before this all started and he began to cry, meaning that he didn't remember."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that the area of his brain that contains memory is having a bit of trouble right now. I would suggest taking him to a Child Psychiatrist, not only to diagnose him, but to let him speak what he feels about what happened. Here," Manteuffel wrote something down on a piece of paper, "His name is Dr. Shanker, and he could probably help you out more then I can." Atem took the paper from him.

"But, he's alright, right? No damage?"

"Nope; you're lucky you got to him in time." Atem sighed and went to the room Yugi was held in.

"Daddy!" Yugi said when Atem entered, holding out his arms to be picked up. Atem gladly did so.

"Yugi, I'm so glad you're alright!"

"He hut me!" (_it's supposed to be like that since Yugi's still young and can't really say too many words correctly right now_.)Yugi said into Atem's shirt. The young father rubbed the boy's back.

"It's alright now, Yugi. You're safe … no one can hurt you now." Yugi was still shaking when Atem sat down on the bed, bringing Yugi into his lap. "Yugi, why did you run off in the first place?"

" … No know …"

"You don't know?" Yugi shook his head. "Well, from now on, I want you to stay where I can see you, and also, never talk to someone you don't know, alright?" Yugi nodded.

"'Kay, Daddy." Atem smiled. Even after a traumatizing event like an attempted rape, Yugi still had that look in his eyes like he loved life and everything around him. Atem didn't know how the child could do that. He was a wreck, and it didn't even happen to him!"

"What do you say we get some dinner from McDonald's, hmm?" Yugi's eyes lightened when he heard '_McDonald's_'; all problems forgotten now.

"Yeah!" He squealed. Atem smiled and picked Yugi up. Tomorrow, he'd look into getting a psychiatrist for Yugi to go to, even though he didn't want to. But if it would help his child live a better life, then he would do it.

---

_End of Chapter_


	7. Preschool Daze

Okay, there's a lot of mis-spellings in this chapter, but that's because children are speaking, and you know how they mispornounce things. If you can't translate it, you're not trying hard enough. I tried to make it as simple as I possibly could. Also, there's a time-laps of two years. Yugi goes from being One to Three. Enjoy!

---

The room was small, but not too confining. Atem sat on the suede love seat – couch while Yugi played with some toys and colored on some scrap paper. Another man sat in a desk chair, writing down things on a clipboard every once in a while. "So Yugi, do you like to color?" Yugi looked up from his artwork and looked at the man with a smile.

"Yeah." The man with the clipboard smiled and wrote on it.

"That's good. Do you know your colors very well?" Yugi nodded. "That's good too; can you draw me a picture of something?" Yugi smiled and turned to another piece of paper. The man looked up at Atem and smiled.

"It's good that he knows his colors. He can use them to communicate." Atem cocked his head.

"Communicate?" The other man nodded.

"Yes, most children express their feelings through their pictures such as: red means anger," Atem nodded in understanding, "green can mean envy or not feeling well, yellow can mean happiness and so on."

"I understand … Dr. Shanker; did the tests come back with any news at all?" The man, named Dr. Shanker, nodded and reached for a few files. A few weeks earlier, Yugi had to be put through a PET scan and they had yet to see the results.

"Here they are." The man gave Atem the results of his son's tests.

"What are these red spots?"

"Oh, those are the areas of the brain that may have some difficulty developing as he grows." Atem blinked.

"What do you mean difficulty?" Shanker sighed and flipped through some of the other files in the folder.

"You told me that Yugi said that he couldn't remember where he was when he started to run off? Or how that man came to be on top of him?" Atem nodded.

"Yes, that's right … what's the problem?"

"The problem is …" he leaned in closer to Atem and lowered his voice before he continued, "the problem is that the damage that Yugi took when he when he was in his biological mother's womb is starting to take effect on his growing mind; particularly his memory. The abuse probably caused a case known as _Dissociative Fugue_, in which case the person outwardly appears normal, but at the same time, the person has extensive amnesia and is confused about their identity. Yugi's cases seem to only be a few seconds or minutes, but as time goes on, they could grow to days, weeks, or even years. And Yugi wouldn't remember anything that happened in the Fugue state." Atem's eyes were widened with horror. He was breathing very rapidly too.

"Oh no … is there anything we can do?" Shanker looked at Yugi who had finished the picture he was asked to color.

"That's very nice, Yugi. Who are these people?" The people in the drawing were circle people with arms and legs; they were colored in yellow. Yugi pointed to the taller person he drew.

"Das Daddy." He said. Atem smiled and kissed Yugi's head.

"And I guess this is you?" Yugi nodded.

"Das 'a 'ouse." On the other side of the house were two other characters.

"And who would these be?" Yugi pointed to the taller one.

"Unka Mawic 'n Unka Koowa." He said. If you couldn't understand that, it was Uncle Marik and Uncle Bakura. Suddenly, Atem looked at the small drawing that Yugi did of himself and noticed that he drew himself with a frown on his face. The young father took the picture and held it in front of his tiny son.

"Yugi, why are you sad in this picture?" Yugi snuggled into his father's chest before answering.

"I hut …" Atem wrapped his arms around Yugi and held him tightly.

"Perhaps I could keep this." Shanker said, putting the drawing in Yugi's file.

"Dr. Shanker, you didn't answer my question … how am I going to help Yugi's memory problem?" Shanker took a small pad of paper and quickly wrote something down on it.

"Here, this medicine should do the trick. It's a ninety day prescription and it's only ten grams right now. I want to see how he does on this medicine first before I increase the dosage. Have him take this medicine once a day at breakfast. It should help keep the Fugue episodes under control." Atem nodded.

"Thank you, Doctor." Atem stood up with Yugi in his arms and walked out the door.

---

_Two Years Later …_

Yugi was now three years old. Other disorders had surfaced as well. Apparently, his '_life giver_' liked to smoke when she was pregnant, so a case of Asthma developed. Due to the malnutrition he was given as a fetus, his system couldn't produce sugar properly, giving him Diabetes. Yugi's ADD was starting to surface as well as his dyslexia. The child was given a number of medications that Atem was beginning to think that someone was trying to overdose him. But all of these medicines proved to be helping his fragile son instead of hurting him, so he kept his mouth shut.

Now that Yugi was three, it was time for him to start preschool. Atem knew that Yugi had never been around other kids his own age and he didn't know how that would affect his ability to make friends. The young father took a look in the rear-view mirror and snuck a peek at Yugi. The child was bouncing up and down in his car seat with a smile on his face. He was so excited to start school. Atem sighed as he pulled into the parking lot of a day care center known as Kindercare. (_This was the name of the preschool/day care I went to … and I hated that place!_)

Once inside, Atem signed Yugi in and noticed all the children that were playing; different kinds of children all over the place. Yugi's fist clung to Atem's pant leg, gaining his attention. He had a small back pack with a blanket, a pillow, and the panda bear stuffed animal, whom Yugi had officially dubbed 'Ping' inside of it. Along with Yugi's inhaler, insulin, and anxiety medicine, which he'd take at lunch with his insulin. Atem walked into the room with Yugi trying to hide behind his legs. A young looking lady came in with a big smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Ms. Lisa, and welcome to Kindercare." Atem nodded; he was not comfortable around this lady's perky attitude.

"Hello, I'm Atem Darkling, and this bundle trying to hide behind me, is my son, Yugi Darkling." Yugi peeked out from behind Atem's leg and blinked one large amethyst eye.

"Oh aren't you just the cutest thing!" Yugi quickly hid behind Atem again. "Oh, there's no need to be scared, Little Yugi … see, we're all friends here." Yugi smiled, but hid it in his father's leg. "Come with me and I'll show you to your cubby." Ms. Lisa walked to the other side of the counter where a row of boxes and hangers were. One box said '_Yugi_' on it in big blue letters. You could tell that one of the older kids colored it with markers. Atem hung Yugi's jacket on the hanger and put his pillow, blanket, and Ping into the box.

"Alright now, this is his attention medicine; he's supposed to take it at lunch after he'd been given this, his insulin; but check his sugar level before you give it to him. His inhaler must be taken before he can go outside or else he won't be able to breathe." Ms. Lisa giggled.

"Don't worry, Mr. Darkling. We'll take good care of Yugi." Atem didn't seem too sure, but he nodded.

"Well, also, he's a Hemophiliac, meaning that if he gets a scrape, it could be very serious if it starts to bleed."

"Oh my …"

"Yes, so please keep an eye on him at all times."

"We will, Mr. Darkling, don't worry." Atem kneeled down and brought Yugi into a deep hug.

"Alright Yugi, I'm gonna go now, alright?" Yugi looked at Atem with sad eyes.

"Yoo goin' 'way?" The father nodded.

"Yes, I have to go. But don't worry, I'll be back to pick you up later." Yugi flung his arms around Atem's neck.

"Wanna go wif yoo!" Atem sighed and kissed Yugi on the cheek.

"No, Little One … you have to stay here … go make some new friends." Yugi started to cry and shiver. "I know you're scared, Yugi, but you don't have to be. I promise I'll come back for you."

"Pinky pomis?" Yugi asked, holding out his tiny pinky. Atem chuckled and wrapped his own round the smaller one.

"Pinky promise." Atem gave Yugi one last kiss before walking away, not looking back. When Yugi heard the door close, he knew for sure that his father had left him. Tears of fear and abandonment filled his eyes, but before they had a chance to fall, Ms. Lisa took his hand.

"Yugi, would you like to meet everyone?" Yugi sniffled and nodded. Ms. Lisa took him over to the carpeted area where a circle of boys and girls was. "Children, children! We have a new friend joining us today. Yugi, this is Joey Wheeler, Tristan Taylor, Tea Gardner, Malik Ishtar, Ryou (_okay, gonna make up a last name here, and then I'm gonna add some made up kids, just to make their class seem bigger._) Walker, Seto Kaiba, (_Can you imagine seeing him as a three year old?_) Ricky Lograsso, Emily Greene, Nick Mayberry, Melissa Scholle, Scott Smith, Courtney Mets, Alexis Carpenter, and Justin Morris. Children, this is Yugi Darkling. Let's all give him a big welcome.

"Hi, Yugi Dawkin'!" All the children said at the same time. Yugi blushed and waved his hand.

" … … Hi … …" The blonde boy, known as Joey, snickered.

"Wat's wif yo hair? Aww yoo a fweek?" All the other children laughed loudly as Yugi blushed and tears formed in his eyes.

"Joey Wheeler, that was not nice, say you're sorry this instant!"

"Otay … sowy Ugly!" The children laughed again. And Yugi started to cry this time.

"That's enough, Joey! Three minutes of time out in the corner!" Joey pouted and stomped off into the corner. Ms. Lisa turned her attention back to the other children. "Now, let's treat Yugi with as much respect as you want to be treated, okay?"

---

A few hours later, all the other children still ignored Yugi. And Joey didn't miss a chance to make fun of the new kid. A couple of times, Ms. Lisa had to pull the blonde class-clown away from the shy tri-haired boy. Right now, Yugi was currently sitting at a table, minding his own business with his coloring. One of the older kids, who Yugi knew as Mai sat and colored with him. "That's very good, Yugi." The older blonde girl said. Yugi smiled.

"Tanku." She just couldn't get over how adorable Yugi was. Too bad this was her last year at Kindercare; she was turning thirteen this year and that was the last year for everyone in the day care. "I wuv my Daddy." Yugi said, randomly." Mai smiled at him.

"I bet he loved you too." Yugi was drawing another picture of him and Atem in front of their house. Suddenly, a tan girl with long black hair hopped over.

"Hey Mai, we need you over in the four year olds' class … who's this?"

"Oh, this is Yugi; it's his first day today. Yugi, this is my best friend, Ishizu." The girl known as Ishizu kneeled down to Yugi's level.

"Hi, Yugi, how are you?"

"Good …" Ishizu laughed.

"Mai, he's adorable!"

"Isn't he? That Joey kid has been giving him trouble all day, though." Ishizu's face saddened.

"Awe, I hope my bratty little brother hasn't done that too …"

"No, Malik's been minding his own business." Ishizu laughed.

"Well, like I said; we need your held with the fours'." The tan girl took one last look at how cute Yugi was.

"I'll be right back, okay Yugi?"

"'Kay." Just as the two girls left, a little boy with white hair who strangely looked like Uncle Bakura came up to him.

"Hi, New Kid." He said.

"Hi … I Yugi … wat's your name?"

"I Wyoo." Suddenly, Yugi's head started to hurt. He put his hand on his head and started to groan out of pain. There was a strange tingle in his eye and he felt dizzy, but then suddenly, it went away. He blinked and looked at the boy next to him, who was looking at the smaller boy in confusion.

"Hi, I Yugi … wat's your name?" The other boy blinked and raised an eye brow at him.

"Yoo weird …" He said, leaving. Yugi's eyes started to water. He smashed the crayon down on the paper he'd been coloring on and broke it. He put his head down and started to cry. Suddenly, a shadow covered him. He looked up to see Ms. Lisa standing over him.

"Oh Yugi, what's the matter?" Yugi sniffled and pointed at Ryou.

"He say I weird …" Ms. Lisa kneeled down and hugged Yugi, rubbing his back.

"There, there … you know what; I bet I know what would make you feel better." Yugi sniffled again.

"Wat?"

"It's time to go outside. C'mon, let's get your inhaler." Yugi nodded and followed Ms. Lisa into the office.

---

Some time later, Yugi found himself wandering around the playground. He didn't know what to do; there was a plastic jungle gym with a curly slide, but it looked crowded. The basketball court had lots of different kinds of balls in it, but they all looked bigger then he was. Then he saw something he really loved: swings! He loved to swing; which is why his father had to put up a swing set in the back yard. He slowly walked over to the swings. There were only four, and three of them were occupied by Tristan, Tea, and Seto. The other children watched him walk over to the last swing. All of a sudden, he was pushed to the ground by someone … and who was that someone? Why, Joey Wheeler of course. "Hey, I was gonna swing!" Yugi whined. Joey spat a raspberry at him.

"On yo' feets, lose yo' seats!" Yugi continued to pout while the others laughed.

"I'm telling!" Yugi turned around to find Ms. Lisa, but when he did, Joey's shoe kicked him right in the temple, causing him to fall to the ground. Tristan, Tea, and Seto, along with Joey all laughed when he was covered in grass. Suddenly, Yugi didn't feel so good anymore … he didn't even know where he was. "Daddy …?" He couldn't remember anything that happened and his head was really starting to hurt. "Daddy where aww you …?" He put his fingers to his temple and saw red sticky stuff coming out of it. The stuff was coming out of him really fast. He crawled around the grass, hoping he'd find his daddy soon. "I want my Daddy …" The world was spinning and he felt like he was going to throw up … where was he? Where was Daddy? He wanted to go home where it was safe. Pretty soon, he started to cry. The blood running down his face was starting to sting his eyes. Finally, he stopped crawling and sat in the grass with his fingers on his head. There, he began to weep out loud.

Ms. Lisa heard him and ran up to him. She gasped when she saw the blood on his face. "Yugi, what happened?" Yugi wouldn't stop crying, he was now hysterical.

"**I WANT MY DADDY!**" Ms. Lisa picked him up and ran inside to get help, Yugi still crying hysterically.

---

Forty-five minutes of cleaning later, Atem raced through the glass door of the day care. "Where is he!" He demanded. A lady in a nice suit walked Atem to the twos' class room. There, he saw Yugi hiccupping with Ping clutched in his arms. "Yugi …" Yugi looked up at the sound of his name.

"Daddy!" He raised his arms. Atem immediately picked him up and hugged him for all he was worth. Yugi's tears were still falling. Ms. Lisa stood behind them, looking sad.

"How did this happen?"

"The children were playing outside and I found him crawling in the grass, crying."

"Fine, but what about the cut? I told you he was a Hemophiliac!"

"One of the other boys kicked him in the head, and don't worry, we're going to speak to his parents about this." Atem sighed.

"It was a mistake making him come here … he's not ready."

"Mr. Darling, with all due respect, Yugi needs to start his education now, and he needs to be around children his own age."

"What, so they can do this to him again?"

"I'm going to try my best to keep the two boys away from each other. Please don't shield Yugi like this, it'll only hurt him in the end." Atem looked at Yugi who was resting his head on his shoulder.

"Yugi, go get your things together." He put the child down, who slowly walked to his cubby.

"You're right … but I think this may be too much for him … perhaps I should just ease him into coming here for a little while."

"What do you mean, Mr. Darkling?"

"I mean that instead of him coming every day, I'm going to make it every other day for a while."

"But then he'll be behind the other children."

"He watches preschool shows, so I'll make sure he won't … and it's only for a little while." Ms. Lisa sighed.

"Well, you're his father. If that's what you want to do, then so be it." Atem nodded.

"It's for the best."

---

Meanwhile, Yugi put on his jacket and held Ping in his arms. Suddenly, two boys stood in his way. It was Ryou and Malik. "Yoo goin' home?" Malik asked. Yugi slowly nodded. Ryou blinked.

"Why?" Yugi rubbed his head.

"'Cuz I gots a boo-boo …" Malik just stared at him.

"When yoo comin' back?" Yugi shrugged. Ryou took a step closer to him.

"Sowy I calld-ed yoo weird." Yugi looked up and smiled.

"Tanku … wat's your name?"

"I told-ed yoo aw-weddy." The smallest boy looked at the floor sadly.

"I fo-get awots …"

"'Kay, I Wyoo, dis Malik." Yugi smiled.

"I Yugi." Ryou and Malik smiled at Yugi. "Yoo wook wike Unka Mawic and Unka Koowa." Ryou and Malik looked at each other. The tallest one, Malik giggled.

"When yoo come back, we can pway." Yugi's eyes lit up.

"Otay!"

"Yugi, time to go!" Atem suddenly said. Yugi waddled to his father's side. The two boys waved at their new friend.

"Bye-bye, Yugi!" Yugi waved back at them.

"Bye-bye!"

---

_End of Chapter_


	8. The Truth

_Sorry that this one took so long to get up, but I have to update my other ones as well. This story is probably about second place as my most popular story. Anyway, this chapter should be a good length; not too long, and not too short ... wait ... I'll rephrase that later ... Anyway, enjoy!_

---

Yugi was now ten years old. Life hadn't been too kind to the small, fragile boy. His Fugue episodes were pretty bad sometimes. When Atem was around, he'd have to drop whatever he was doing to go over and help the small boy bring his memory to surface again. The small boy's diabetes was bad as well. The child was constantly in the hospital, trying to get his blood sugar under control. Sometimes, he'd go into a diabetic coma for a few days; when he would come out of them, he'd always have a big asthma attack with a breathing treatment waiting for him. He caught pneumonia at the age of five, causing his immune system to weaken further. The following year, he caught the flu and had to be hospitalized in the St. John's Mercy Intensive Care Unit. In second grade, he caught the Chicken Pox. Atem was getting nervous. Each year, Yugi would come down with a different illness, or be hospitalized for some reason. One time, Atem and Yugi went to where Atem worked, and Yugi's curiosity caused him to get lost in the giant company building. When he was found, Atem found him wondering around the sidewalk outside, confused and crying.

In the fourth grade, Yugi's class went on a field trip to a local cave. The trip was meant to be both educational and fun, but the small boy fell into the freezing cold water and almost drowned. When the teachers and chaperones pulled him out of the water, he was unconscious and was taken to the hospital with a case of Hypothermia. It took three weeks to get Yugi's body temperature back to its regular temperature. Atem was in frenzy when this happened. For the next few months, he didn't let Yugi out of his sight for more then ten minutes. Yugi knew his father was only trying to look after him, but as all kids do, he wanted at lest _some_ independence.

Luckily, Yugi had his two best friends, Ryou and Malik with him. When the two were introduced to Uncle Bakura and Uncle Marik, all four were pretty stunned, but figured it was just a weird coincidence like Yugi was to Atem. However, the three boys still didn't know that Yugi was adopted, so they didn't quite understand it. Ryou was a little scared of Uncle Marik, but Yugi explained that he wouldn't harm a hair on his head, despite the threats he gave. The three boys spent a lot of time together in school. Ryou and Malik always seemed to be the ones who pointed Yugi back to the right track when his spells would occur. Ryou seemed to be the one who helped Yugi out the most. Malik was all for helping Yugi, but when it happened too many times at once, he got a little too impatient. Atem appreciated the boys' efforts and patience, as little as it may be, but he wanted to be notified when Yugi had his episodes.

Yugi's life may have been a challenge so far, but nothing that had come prier would compare to what the child would be going through this year …

---

Everyone was in the kitchen, everyone as in Yugi, Bakura, Atem, and Marik. Marik was at the stove, making breakfast while Bakura, and Yugi ate some pancakes and Atem read the newspaper. "These are really good, Uncle Marik!" Yugi chimed.

"Yeah, how come you've never cooked before?" Bakura added. Marik snickered.

"'Cuz I know you'll always do it, 'Kura!" The youngest of the triplets cringed and started cursing silently so Yugi wouldn't hear. Atem chuckled while looking at his newspaper.

"Why would you want to eat his food anyway, Bakura? You know as well as I do that he'd probably poison it."

"That's where you're wrong, 'Tem; I didn't poison it this time!" Marik said, flipping scrambled eggs in a pan. Atem rolled his eyes.

"That's right; you just spike Cousin Larry's punch at every family reunion, when you know he's already attending AA meetings." Marik laughed like an evil maniac.

"Ding, ding! You've won our game! Now you get to choose which ingredient gets added to your eggs: poison,crap I scrapped off the underside of the counter, laxative, or surprise!"

"Surprise." Yugi, Bakura, and Atem all said in unison.

"Yeah, yeah, everyone always chooses surprise." Atem laughed and put the paper down.

"Yugi, don't forget that we have your yearly doctor's appointment this afternoon." Yugi groaned.

"Can't we not go just this once, Dad?" He hated it when the nurses weighed him and told him that he needed to put some meat on his bones. He also hated being measured, knowing that he was too small for his age.

"You know we need to go to see if you need any more medication. Plus, I need prescriptions for the medicines you're already taking." Yugi sighed and looked at the pile of pills he was required to take. A stimulant for his asthma, a pill for his diabetes, an anti-anxiety pill for his hyper-tension, anti-histamine for his allergies, an anti-depressant for his depression, and an anti-biotic for his recent sinus infection. Can you imagine a child having to take all those pills at once?"

"But Dad, I don't want any more pills …"

"I don't want you to have any more pills either Yugi, but don't you want to feel better?"

"Yes …"

"Then that's how we're gonna doing it."

"But"---

"No '_buts_'; you're going, end of discussion." Yugi sighed and swirled a piece of pancake in syrup."

---

It was Yugi's yearly check up from Dr. Manteuffel. The small boy sat on the table wearing a hospital gown, swinging his legs. Atem sat in a chair, reading one of the old magazines. Yugi hated coming to the doctor. Even though he'd known Manteuffel all his life, every time he came, some kind of news always followed. Whether it be the need of special insulin, or overnight stays for tests, he never liked hearing that he needed to be in the hospital longer then he had to be. The small boy sighed as they waited for Manteuffel to make his appearance. "Dad, when is he going to come in?" Atem didn't even look up from his magazine as he turned the page.

"In a minute, Yugi; he does have other patients, you know." Yugi sighed again.

"But I'm getting cold …"

"You're fine."

"I have to go to the bathroom …"

"You just went."

" … I'm thirsty …"

"No you're not." Yugi sighed again. His excuses weren't working this year. Atem knew all the tricks Yugi used and found a way around them.

"Dad, please, I don't wanna be here!" Finally, Atem put the magazine down and went to comfort his child.

"Yugi, I don't want to be here either, but you know that we have to get these yearly tests to make sure that you're alright." Atem started running his fingers through Yugi's hair. The small boy nuzzled under his father's touch. He loved Atem dearly. Finally, a knock on the door grabbed both of their attention.

"Hello, Atem and Yugi; how are we today?" Atem smiled.

"Fine, thank you."

"Actually, I was"--- Yugi said before Atem quickly covered his son's mouth with his hand. The young father just looked at the doctor with a '_please continue_' look. Manteuffel looked through the files and smiled.

"Well, it looks like everything is fine for right now. Nothing to be concerned with … which concerns me." He chuckled while saying that. Atem did too, but Yugi found it very confusing. He learned not to try to figure out what adults say. But he didn't mind. The only thing he wanted to do was to get dressed and go home. So Yugi gathered his clothes and walked to the restroom to change. Atem looked down the corridor to make sure Yugi couldn't hear what he was about to say next. When he was sure Yugi was gone, he turned to Manteuffel, surprising the doctor.

"It's starting to happen …"

"What's starting to happen?" Atem closed the door and looked at Manteuffel with a look of panic.

"He's asking questions." Manteuffel raised a brow.

"About ...?"

"His mother!"

"Oh …"

"How am I supposed to tell him that he has no mother?

"You mean he hasn't asked before?" Atem started to pace, nervously around the room.

"Sure he's asked, but I just said that his mother died when he was a baby and he left it alone." Manteuffel shrugged in a casual way.

"Well, then I don't see what the problem is." Atem gazed into Manteuffel's eyes with his face only inches away. His ruby irises held fear and desperation.

"Now he wants proof! He's starting to look for pictures and asks if we can go see his mother's grave! What am I supposed to do when we get there, and there's no one by the name of "Chaya Darkling!"

"Atem …"

"I can't just sit by and watch as my son is slowly taken away from me!"

"Atem …"

"Doctor, please, tell me what I'm supposed to do!" Manteuffel sighed and pointed to the doorway. When Atem looked to where the doctor was pointing, he saw a devastated, shocked, and confused looking Yugi. Atem gasped when he saw the tears streaming down his son's face.

"I-it's not true, is it?" Atem got up and walked to Yugi, but the boy began to back away.

"Yugi, how much did you hear?" Yugi made a sniffling noise.

"Is it true? You're … not my real dad?" Atem's heart skipped a beat. This was the question he'd been dreading for ten years. Yugi looked so desperate for him to say that '_it's not true; I was lying_', but then again, he'd been lying for ten years and now it was time to stop. Atem kneeled down to Yugi's level and placed his hands on his narrow shoulders. The small boy was shaking and breathing heavily.

"Yugi … I'm sorry to say this, but …" He looked over at Manteuffel, who nodded as if saying '_it's time to tell him_.' Atem gulped, "I'm so sorry … but it's true." Yugi gasped and backed away. "Now wait, let me explain"---

"No, don't come near me! You lied to me … for ten years!"

"I only did that because I love you." Yugi covered his ears.

"No, stop! You don't! If you did, you would have told me instead of lying to me!" Atem could feel the tears developing in his own eyes. Yugi was taking this a lot harder then he thought.

"But Yugi, you don't understand"---

"All I understand is that you're not the person I though you were! Just leave me alone!" And with that, the small preteen ran away.

"Yugi, wait!" Atem was about to run after him, but Manteuffel stopped him.

"Atem, let him be. Your biggest worry now is that he wants to find his real parents."

"What! But they almost killed him!"

"But he doesn't know that. All he knows right now is right now is that he doesn't know where he comes from. This is making him very confused. Come here, I have something to give to you." Atem silently followed after the doctor.

---

The drive home was a quiet one. Yugi sat in the back, saying that he didn't want to sit next to someone he didn't trust. Atem would occasionally look out the rear-view mirror and see the sad, confused, and hurt look in Yugi's eyes. The small boy just kept looking out the window as if trying to find whatever it was that was missing. Atem let a few small tears fall from his eyes. This whole thing was hurting him deeply. He'd probably crack soon.

When they got home, Yugi ran up to his room and locked the door. Atem sat on the sofa with his head in his hands, wallowing in his own self-pity. He'd been crying ever since he and Yugi got home. This was why he decided long ago not to tell Yugi about his adoption. He knew the child would react the way he did. Now things would never be as they once were…

Just as if things couldn't get bad enough, Marik and Bakura came barging in. "Alright, I'm here, now where's the beer?" Marik said, walking over to the refrigerator. Bakura noticed Atem's depressed mood and sat down on the sofa next to him.

"What's the matter with you?" Atem looked at his younger brother with tears in his eyes. Bakura was taken back for a second. He'd never seen his brothers cry before.

"Yugi found out today …" Marik made it into the living room, plopping down on the love seat with a loud belch.

"Found out what?"

"About his adoption …"

"Uh-oh …"

"How'd he take it?" Atem sighed through his hands.

"Not good; he won't come out of his room." Both Bakura and Marik looked at each other.

"Sorry Bro, but we don't know what to do with this situation." Marik said. Atem slowly nodded.

"I know … it's just something Yugi and I will have to face. It's been a problem that was sure to come from the moment I found him in that ally …" Suddenly, footsteps from the stairs were heard. Atem was relieved that Yugi finally came out of his room. He quickly wiped the tears away from his eyes as Yugi stood in front of him with a pissed off look.

"I've decided that I want to know." The brothers looked at each other in confusion.

"Know what, son?" Yugi glared at his '_father_'.

"I want to know who my parents are." That statement was like an arrow through Atem's heart. But before he could speak, Bakura spoke up,

"Sorry kiddo, but there're no records of your parents anywhere." Atem swallowed the lump in his throat.

"What do you mean '_no records_'? There's gotta be something the Adoption Agency you got me from has." Atem flinched at the mention of an adoption agency.

"Nope, no one could id your real folks the day you were born." Yugi hung his head low and started walking back to the stairs. Atem couldn't stand seeing Yugi so depressed and confused.

"Yugi, wait!" Yugi turned to look at Atem with tears in his eyes. Atem knew that this would be the hardest thing he ever had to do.

"Dr. Manteuffel gave me a file today," he walked over to the cabinet he kept his files in and took out what Manteuffel had given him, "it contains the information that was never found on your … parents." He cringed at that word.

"Really?" The sad father nodded.

"Yes … here it is." He handed Yugi the file, who opened it. He read about how they weren't able to be found until Yugi had turned eight years old. Then he stumbled upon the names.

"Jack and Helga Moto?" He looked at Atem, who shrugged.

"I've never met them."

"Well, I want to; I have questions that I need answered." Atem wasn't able to fight back his sadness or anger any longer.

"Yugi, I forced myself to give your those files, but I can not turn you over to someone else. That, I simply will _not _do." Yugi started to glare, but Atem countered with one of his own.

"Fine, I'll just have Uncle Bakura take me." Upon hearing this, Bakura scoffed.

"No way, Kiddo; you're not draggin' me into this." Yugi looked at Marik.

" … Uncle Marik?"

"Can't even drive legally." Yugi glanced from his father, to Bakura, to Marik, feeling like a fool.

"Fine, I'll call Ryou and ask if his dad will take us!" He ran out the door and slammed it shut. Bakura got up and stood next to Atem, who was watching his little boy run down the street.

"They almost killed him when he was born. What makes you thing they won't try and do it again after ten years?" Atem sighed and brushed away a tear.

"Yugi just wants to know where he's from … it's the least I could do to just give him that …"

---

_End of Chapter_


	9. Meeting the Enemy

_Okay, another chapter of this story is up! Man, you have no idea how many Baby Yugi scenes are going through my head right now. I really wanna get back to Baby Yugi, but this story long since past that stage. If anyone wants some cute stories about Baby Yugi, let me know and maybe I'll make a section of cute short stories of Yugi as a baby. Anyway, here's the next chapter!_

---

A few hours had passed and Yugi still wasn't home. Atem was beginning to get worried. Atem was worrying himself sick. He kept pacing around the entryway with his arms folded. He had seen the address, on the file, that Yugi's biological parents lived he and knew it was close, so why wasn't the boy back yet? What if something happened? What if he found them and they tried to hurt him? Images of some of the most horrific things those people could do to his son ran through Atem's mind. He looked out the front window every five minutes, hoping to see his small son walking down the sidewalk, but he never came. '_I do hope that nothing has happened to him … if they do _anything_ to him, I swear I will hunt them down and_'--- Atem thought to himself, when finally he saw a small image coming towards his house on the sidewalk. Atem swiftly moved over to the couch and picked up a magazine, pretending to read it. The last thing he wanted was to push Yugi further away by letting him know that he'd been waiting with worry.

The small boy slowly and silently entered the large house with a look of fear in his eyes He didn't even see Atem on the couch with a magazine in front of his face. He just wanted to go to his room and cry his eyes out. "So, did you find them?" A strong voice from the couch asked. Yugi flinched at realizing who it was. He sighed and walked over to him.

"Yes … I found them …" Atem looked at Yugi and noticed the dazed look in his eyes. Something was obviously wrong. He put the magazine down and gave Yugi his full attention.

"And …?" Yugi's breathing started to quicken while tears formed in his eyes.

"And … I don't know …" He turned away, unable to look at his father right now. Atem's face turned from strong to sympathetic.

"Yugi, tell me what's wrong." Yugi couldn't hold back his tears anymore. He plopped down on the couch next to Atem and buried his face in his hands, crying his eyes out. Atem swallowed the lump in his throat; he couldn't stand to see Yugi cry. Finally, the boy had gained enough strength to explain.

"I-I got there, and i-i-it was terrible …" Atem scooted closer to him. "W-when m-my … I mean … _she_ opened t-the door, s-she yelled at me and asked w-who I was …" The small boy resumed his crying while Atem put an arm around him.

"Go on …" Yugi sniffled.

"T-then I-I told her who I was, and s-she slapped me and asked h-how I found them … they didn't e-even g-give me a c-chance to say anything before … before …" He broke down into tears again, "before he p-pulled o-out a gun," Atem's eyes widened, "and s-said that I-I wasn't supposed t-to live and t-that I should have d-died in t-the ally … what ally was he talking about?" Atem's eyes filled with unshed tears for his son. "Anyway, h-he started shooting and c-chased me away, screaming '_if I ever see you again, I'll kill you_' …" Not only was Atem fearful for his son now, but he was flaming with rage for those two people who had the nerve to take out a gun to a child, _their_ child, their real flesh and blood.

"Yugi, I'm so sorry that happened to you …" Yugi sniffled again, grabbing a tissue from the end table.

"I-I guess I d-don't have the right t-to be here after the t-trouble I gave you this afternoon …" Atem came as close as he could to Yugi and pulled him into his arms, surprising the preteen.

"Never think that you don't belong here. You know that no matter what you do, or what you say, I will always love you." Yugi snuggled into Atem's embrace. His crying had slowed down now.

"I'm so sorry, Dad …"

"No, I'm sorry; sorry that I never told you about this."

"I never should have gone there …" Atem's embrace loosened on the boy.

"Yugi, there's something else I didn't tell you."

"What, I've got a twin somewhere?" Atem chuckled and ruffled the boy's silky hair.

"No; however, that would be a lot easier to say, but when he mentioned that ally, what he meant was … the day you were born, your parents abandoned you in an ally." Yugi gasped. "I found you wrapped in newspaper, not long afterwards. Apparently, you had been born premature due to your mother's constant smoking and drinking. She also beat up on her abdomen to force you to be born. By the time I got there, they were already gone." Yugi's tears were flowing freely once again. Now it all made sense; all the times he was constantly sick and all his disorders. It finally made sense.

"So … I guess I really wasn't supposed to live …"

"Never say that!" Yugi flinched at Atem's raised voice. "Never think that you were not meant to live! Those people don't have any right to even call you their flesh and blood." Atem cupped Yugi's face and rubbed the boy's cheeks with his thumbs. Yugi nuzzled Atem's touch. "Blood or not, you are my son. I raised and took care of you all your life. I love you, Little One." Yugi was still crying, but now they turned to tears of affirmation.

"I love you too, Dad … and I promise that I'll never go back there again." Atem smiled, thankful to have his son back.

---

Several months later, Yugi, Ryou and Malik were all upstairs in Yugi's room, doing God only knew what. Those boys were very secretive about what they did, but they sure had a good time together. Ryou was very comforting during Yugi's depression times and Malik always did his best to make the other two laugh, succeeding in only half the time. Yugi didn't know what he'd do without Ryou and Malik there to help him along. The three were like blood brothers now, with Malik saying that they should have made it official.

All three Darkling triplets were downstairs. Atem and Bakura were working on taxes while Marik screamed at the television set, cursing when the Green Bay Packers did something stupid. Fortunately for his younger brothers, they were able to tune him out. "'Tem, can't you deduct some of this stuff!" Bakura asked. Atem sighed.

"No, most of them are Yugi's medical bills. And believe me; I even get off easy with some of them since they all think Yugi's the cutest thing they've ever seen." Suddenly, there came a loud crash from upstairs. Atem cringed and turned towards the stairway. "**YUGI**!" He yelled

"_I DIDN'T DO IT_!" Yugi yelled back. Atem let out a frustrated groan and rubbed his temples with his fingertips. He looked over at Bakura, who was smirking at him.

"Heh, yeah as cute as a button, right 'Tem?" Atem rolled his eyes and looked at the files in front of him. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Doorbell!" Marik called. Atem glared at his older brother.

"Ever think of getting off your ass and helping out around here!" Marik shrugged.

"I do; I take care of your kid when you're not around."

"Oh, it's a wonder of all the help you do around here, Marik." Atem replied, sarcastically. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"It's a wonder he can get himself dressed in the morning." Atem chuckled and stood up. When he did, Bakura crumbled up a paper and threw it at Marik. That's when Atem went to answer the door. When he opened it, he got a big surprise.

Two people stood outside the doorway; a man and a woman. They looked like drug addicts and drunks. The woman had no make up on and her long, blonde hair looked ruffled and stringy. The man looked like a drunk; he had bad teeth and what little hair he had was turning grey. Both of these low lives had wrinkles under their tired looking eyes. Automatically, Atem knew who they were. "Can I help you?" He dully asked. The man put on a smile that looked so fake.

"Yes, is this the house of Atem Darkling?" Atem's eyes squinted a bit.

"Yes it is." The man was about to continue when the woman interrupted him.

"We've come looking for our son, Little '_Ugly_'." The anger that Atem was holding back finally got to him. He knew that the woman miss-pronounced his name on purpose.

"It's Yugi."

"Oh yes, we're here to collect him." All of a sudden, Atem couldn't hold himself back anymore. His fist pulled back and collided with the man's nose, causing it to bleed. The woman looked at her husband, but didn't do anything to help him.

"Get off my property _now_." Atem said in a threatening tone. The woman squinted her eyes, rivaling Atem's glare.

"I assure you, Mr. Darkling, if you don't hand over our son this instant, we'll have you arrested for kidnapping!" Atem smirked.

"You're the ones who'll be kidnapping if I hand him over to you. You lost your legal rights to him when you abandoned him in that ally!" From behind him, Atem heard the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Dad, who is it?" Atem turned around quickly.

"Yugi, stay upstairs!" But Yugi didn't listen. He walked over to the door with Ryou and Malik close behind him. He gasped when he saw who it was. The woman put on a fake smile and opened her arms, as if expecting Yugi to come out and hug her.

"Come to Mama, Sweet Heart!" Ryou and Malik looked at each other as they saw Yugi backing away with a horrified look in his eyes.

"Yugi, who is that?" Ryou asked. Atem put his arm in front of the three of them, trying to protect them.

"Boys, go back up stairs." Yugi nodded, not looking away at the woman's ugly grey eyes.

"C'mon guys, let's go back to my room." The three boys rushed back upstairs with Malik repeating Ryou's question. When they were gone, Atem turned his glaring face back to the two trespassers at his door.

"Leave now and never come back … just like what you told to Yugi those months ago when he tried to find you!" The man looked like he wanted to strangle Atem.

"Look here, Pal; he's our son, and we want him back!" Atem was about to open his mouth when a voice from behind him spoke up.

"Well, you won't be getting' him!" He turned around to see Marik and Bakura, who looked almost as pissed off as he did. It'd been Bakura who said that.

"From what I hear, you're a bunch of bitches who're all bark and no bite. No one threatens my li'l nephew and lives ta tell 'bout it!" Marik said. He seemed to have an impact on the couple. Atem smirked at the thought that his brothers had his back.

"I'll say this one last time: leave, now." The man moved closer to Atem, towering over him.

"Or what?" Bakura stepped up to his middle brother.

"Or I'll have you arrested on the charges of trespassing and attempt at kidnapping!" To prove it, he flashed his license to study law. The couple was finally threatened enough to start backing away.

"This isn't over, Pal! You'll hear from us again!" The man shouted as he and his wife both got back into their shitty car and sped away. Atem sighed and closed the door.

"The nerve of them, tellin' Yugi that they never wanted to see him again and then coming over to kidnap him!" Bakura said. Atem was quite shaken with what just happened. He wanted to protect Yugi so much that he was willing to give his life to a couple who he considered murderers. Speaking of Yugi, he cautiously came down the stairs and went to Atem, holding him as a lifeline.

"A-are they gone?" Atem wrapped his arms around Yugi's small form as if the boy were about to be taken away from him.

"Yes, they're gone … for now."

---

A few days later, Marik and Atem were at home, chatting away at pointless things. Mostly remembering their childhood and making fun of Bakura. "Remember when we were six and he literally came up to Mom and Dad and shouted: "Mommy, I wanna be Batman when I grow up!" while wearing that stupid costume?" Marik asked. Both he and Atem laughed loudly at that memory.

"Yes, I remember; I believe that's when Dad decided that it was officially time for him to start therapy." Both laughed again when the front door slammed. Atem had to work from home today, so he asked Bakura to pick Yugi up from school. Yugi ran into the kitchen and gave Atem a hug.

"Hi, Dad!" Atem smiled and leaned into the hug.

"Well, what's this for?" Yugi smiled.

"Nothing, I just felt like it!" Atem's warm smile increased.

"I'll take a free hug anytime. Why don't you go upstairs, do your homework, and then we'll go get something to eat, alright?" Yugi smiled with pure joy.

"Okay!" He ran up the stairs and into his room. Atem smiled as he watched his hyperactive son leave the kitchen. His smile faded, however, when he turned to face Bakura.

"What's your malfunction?" Bakura looked as if he were a thousand miles away.

"You're not gonna believe what I found in my mailbox this morning at the office."

"Another chain letter from one of your ex's?" Marik asked sarcastically. Bakura rolled his eyes.

"No! … Well yes, but not just that, look!" He reached for his inner pocket and took out a bunch of folded papers with a blue paper on top. He gave it to Atem. The young father opened it with a confused face.

"What's this?"

"That's a supine, ordered from the lawyer of a couple named Jack and Helga Moto, deciding who has true custody of Yugi!" Atem and Marik both jolted out of their chairs.

"WHAT!" Bakura nodded.

"Yeah, apparently, their lawyer is arguing that _you're_ the one who kidnapped him ten years ago without their consent." Atem's jaw dropped.

"This is ridiculous!"

"That's what I said. I went to a judge trying to get rid of it, but their lawyer is very persuasive. The court date is in one week." Atem continued to look at the supine, shaking his head in denial.

"No, no they can't do this to me!" Tears started to fall down Atem's cheeks.

"I know, but they're saying that they want to have full custody of Yugi once again."

"But they're abusive!" Marik pointed out.

"Yeah, but you don't know how a lawyer works: they'll twist anything around just to make their case." Atem collapsed back into his chair, holding his head in his hands.

"What do we do?" Bakura smirked.

"Don't worry, I've got it all figured out. People are always stopping to say how cute Yugi is, so if we can get him to act _extremely_ cute, then the jury will pity him and the Motos won't stand a chance."

"Maybe, but what if they buy their story? I'll lose Yugi … I can't let that happen …" Bakura placed a hand on Atem's shoulder.

"Bro, I promise I won't let that happen. We've got the upper hand here. It's their fault that Yugi is as sick as he is. All you have to do is tell them how you found Yugi and what happened that night in the ally." Atem looked up with teary eyes.

"You're right." Atem wiped the tears from his eyes. "If you two will excuse me, I'm going to go help Yugi with his homework and then we're going out to dinner." Atem slowly stood up and made his way toward his son's room. Bakura and Marik looked at each other with sympathedic looks.

---

Yugi lay on his stomach on top of his bed with his legs swinging in the air. "Okay, a three-sided object is called a triangle, a four-sided object is called a quadrilateral, a five-sided object is a pentagon, a six-sided object is a hexagon, a seven-sided object is called a … … I don't know!" Suddenly, there came a knock at the door. Atem opened the door and came in.

"Hello, Little One."

"Hi, Dad!" Atem sat on Yugi's bed. "Dad, will you help me with my math vocabulary?" Atem reached for the math book.

"Sure; what are you doing, geometry?"

"Yeah, and I can't remember what a seven-sided figure is …"

"Well, think of if this way: you have for six, you have hex, for eight, remember an _Oct_opus, and for seven, you a heptode..." He wanted Yugi to finish the word.

"Hepto ... heptagon!"

"Right! Now, what about eight sides?"

"Octagon!"

"Right and nine?"

"Nonagon."

"And the last one, ten would be …"

"A decagon!"

"Brilliant, Yugi!" That Special School Program was helping Yugi a lot. The small boy looked so happy that he remembered his vocabulary. A lot of times, words would just fall out of his head, even when it wasn't one of his Fugue episodes. Atem's smile faded at the thought of Yugi being taken away from him. He couldn't live without the child. He needed him. Without Yugi, his life had no meaning.

"Dad, are you okay?" Atem blinked a couple of times.

"Yes, I'm fine. Yugi, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Dad; what is it?"

"Those people … your … parents … what do you think of them?" Yugi face dropped when they were mentioned.

"Well … it'd be horrible … I can just tell that they'd hurt me the first chance they got. You wouldn't let them do that, would you, Dad?" Atem placed his hand on Yugi's cheek and caressed it. Yugi nuzzled his father's hand, just like every other time.

"Of course not, Yugi; I'd never let them hurt you." Yugi crawled into Atem's lap and cuddled his father's chest.

"Why do you ask?" Atem rested his chin in the boy's hair. Telling him about court would be very hard. He decided to wait to tell him.

"No reason; are you ready to get some dinner?"

"Yeah!" Ate chuckled at Yugi's cheerfulness; that cheerfulness that always seemed to be present, even on the cloudiest of days.

"Alright, go wash up and get your jacket." Yugi jumped off the bed and went to do as he was told.

"I promise, Yugi … that no matter what, I will fight for you." Atem said to himself. He'd have to prepare Yugi for court in order to face those people once again. He knew Bakura and Marik would help him no matter what. But for some reason, he couldn't shake off that feeling that something might happen. He decided to forget it for the rest of the night and have a carefree time with Yugi.

---

End of Chapter


	10. The Trial

_I watch waaaaaaaaay too much_Law and Order: SVU_; and you'll see that in this chapter. PS: don't get so worked up over the end; this is_ **NOT**_the last chapter, so just wait and see. Here ya go!_

---

The trial week of the trial came closer, and Yugi still didn't know about it. He never even spoke about what might happen if he were taken away from Atem. The young father knew that the jury would see that he was a better parent then both those Neanderthals put together, but still, there was just something in the back of his mind that was bothering him. Atem couldn't think of what to do. Sighing, he stood up and made a trip to the second floor of the house. He walked as quietly as he could so as not to wake his slumbering son.

In Yugi's room, the small boy cuddled the thick blankets over him, sleeping soundly. His eyes moved under his eyelids, showing that he was in stage five, or for those of you who don't know that much about Psychology, REM sleep. (_Rapid Eye Movement_) Silently, Atem opened the door and walked in his son's room. Yugi's hand was curled in a fist, clutching the blankets and resting right in front of his nose. Atem couldn't help but think what a wonder his son was. Atem leaned down and used the back of his index finger to caress Yugi's baby soft cheek. Like always, Yugi smiled and nuzzled it. (_Can you tell I love making him do that?_) He couldn't think of his life without Yugi; Yugi was the one who changed his outlook on life.

Up until the day he found Yugi screaming in that ally, he thought his life had no meaning and was seriously thinking of committing suicide. He hated everything about his life: his job, his love life, even his family. He was in a major depression and didn't know how to bring himself back out of it. Then a miracle happened; some ray of sunshine in the black cloudy skies of Atem's life: a baby had been abandoned, left for dead in an ally. When Atem first held Yugi in his arms, he knew then, more then ever, that he did have something to live for. He had to live for Yugi, and fight for him when the time came, no matter what.

Now, that time had come, and Atem would fight for Yugi, no matter how hard things got. Even if it'd end him up on Death Row, he would fight. He'd always been there for Yugi. Atem was there when the boy was scared of going back to school, after his first day. When Yugi was in the second grade, and his class was putting on a play about the Founding Fathers, Yugi had won the role of John Hancock; Atem was there. To have Yugi show off his good grades, his achievements, his own little discoveries; Atem was always there. Yugi needed him now more then ever. Atem smiled as he watched his son sleep. He bent down to give the small boy a tiny peck on the forehead when a soft voice stopped him.

"Dad?" Atem sat up in shock. He didn't mean to wake him up. Yugi sat up as well, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked with a bit of a slur. Apparently, Atem had disturbed his REM, and we all know how funky we feel when we're in REM and immediately brought out of it. Atem bit his lip. Was now the right time to tell him?

"Yugi … I have something to tell you …" Yugi's mind finally surfaced when he sensed the seriousness in his father's voice.

"About what?" Atem sighed and sat on the bed, opening his arms in an invitation for the boy to sit in his lap. Yugi happily accepted the invitation and crawled in Atem's lap, both nuzzling each other. "What's the matter, Dad?" Atem looked at Yugi with tears in his eyes.

"Little One, there's a problem …" Yugi was starting to get nervous now.

"Dad, please just tell me!" Another sigh escaped from Atem's mouth.

"Those people," Atem didn't have to explain to Yugi who he meant; just the look in the child's eyes told him that he knew who this was about, "they want to … to … take you away …" Yugi gasped and clutched Atem's skin. He wasn't wearing a shirt, so the next best thing was his skin. The father flinched when his skin was pinched, but knew that Yugi did that out of fear. "Now before you jump to any conclusions, I want you to know that I won't be giving you up without a fight; I promise." Tears were starting to flow down Yugi's face like rivers and his chin began to shiver in fear. His pupils dilated from the shock at what Atem was telling him.

"P-please don't let them take me away!" He buried his face in Atem's chest. Atem tried to soothe Yugi by rubbing circles on his back.

"Shh … calm down, Yugi." Yugi went into hysteria with his crying.

"But I don't wanna go with them! I like it here! I love you, not them! Please don't make me go!" Atem rested his head on top of Yugi's and continued to soothe him while the boy kept repeating the last part of his statement over and over. "Don't make me go, don't make me go …" He whispered while still crying.

"Shh … it's going to be alright …" Yugi continued to ball his eyes out in Atem's chest. Seeing the child cry this hard made Atem want to cry right beside him. He wouldn't let himself do that, but a few tears did make their way down his face. Soon, Yugi's hysteria calmed down and had reduced to small sniffles. Atem kept rubbing his back and started swaying back and forth. "Shh …" he kept saying.

"Dad, why do they wanna take me away?"

"Well, apparently, they want you to live with them now. I don't know why, but because they are your blood parents, they want you back." Yugi sniffled.

"But they'll hurt me, I just know it …" Atem's arms tightened around the boy.

"I believe so as well; that's why your uncles and I are going to do anything we can in order to keep you out of their reach." Yugi smiled and sniffled again.

"Thanks, Dad … I love you." Atem smiled as well and kissed Yugi on the forehead.

"I love you too, my Little One.

"Dad, can I sleep with you tonight?" Normally, Atem would have said '_no_', but he felt that the boy needed as much comfort as he could right now.

"Of course." He picked Yugi up, along with Ping, and walked to his own room, where the two of them slept peacefully.

---

The day of the trial came quicker then expected. Even though Bakura had successfully come up with a tactic that would prove that Yugi would never see those awful people again, Atem still couldn't get ride of the feeling that something was going to happen. He and Bakura sat at one table while the Motos and their lawyer sat at another. Yugi, Marik, Solomon and Eleanor were in the audience with other people.

"Darkling!" The lawyer shouted. Both Bakura and Atem turned to look at him. Bakura rolled his eyes and stood up while straightening his tie.

"Friedman!" Both lawyers stared each other down, not moving a muscle. The one called Friedman smirked.

"Still such a dull officer of the court that you're still here in Family Court, huh?" Bakura scuffed.

"Well if you were such a high and mighty lawyer, how come you're here too?" Friedman kept smirking.

"The Motos have been my clients for years, and now they want their son back, so I'm helping them put their family together again."

"What do you mean '_again_'! They were never a family to begin with; they abandoned him in an ally!"

"You don't know that; they could have left him there and went to go get help, then planned on coming back."

"Oh shut yer hole, Friedman; it's lawyers like you who give us our blood-sucking reputations!"

"And it's lawyers like you, Darkling, lawyers that are not very good at all, who make me rich with all my winning cases." Bakura was getting pissed beyond reason now. He raised his finger and was about to yell at him.

"Friedman, I swear, if you don't get the fuck away from me, I'll"---

"All rise, for the Honorable Judge George Heth." A bailiff announced. Bakura went back to the table he was sitting at with his brother.

"Who was that?" Atem asked.

"Don Friedman; the prick cheats on the BAR exam and thinks he's suddenly the greatest lawyer to ever exist. I tell ya, the grades he got in Law School were far from even allowing him to touch that title." Atem had to chuckle as everyone sat down.

"Case #45682, Jack and Olga Moto vs. Atem Darkling over custody of the minor, Yugi Darkling, also known as Yugi Moto. This case will now come to order." The judge said.

When the Judge said his name, then what his '_real_' name was, Yugi gulped. He noticed the sadistic smirk on the faces of, as Atem and Yugi had come to know them, those people. Yugi didn't know what to do. Uncle Bakura said that he was going to call on him to answer a few questions, but he also said that the other lawyer was going to ask him questions as well. Uncle Bakura said not to worry and try to answer them as honestly as he possibly could.

Most of the trial consisted of his parents on the stand, being questioned by both lawyers. But it seemed that every question Bakura poured out to them, they always had a way of making it seem as if they were the innocent victims here. Then finally, Bakura called Atem to the stand.

"The defense calls Atem Darkling to the stand!" Bakura said. Atem stood up and looked at Yugi. He smiled and winked at the boy, as if trying to assure him that nothing would go wrong. After Atem was put under oath, Bakura started questioning him, being careful not to let out that the two of them were brothers.

"Mr. Darkling, please state how you came to know that Yugi existed." Atem cleared his throat. He sat with his legs crossed and his hands folded.

"One night, I was walking home in the rain … my car was not working, so I had to walk home. Anyway, in an ally, I found Yugi there, screaming and wrapped in soggy newspaper. Bakura winked at him.

"How did you come to the conclusion to adopt the child?"

"The doctor there tried to do a genetics test to see who his parents were, but there were no records of them at all, so he would have been sent to a children's home. I simply fell in love with him and had to make sure he was taken care of; so I decided to adopt him." Atem looked at Yugi and smiled at him with a loving smile. Yugi smiled back.

"How long has Yugi been in your custody?"

"Since he was released from the hospital."

"Which was?"

"When he was three months old."

"In that time, have you ever risen a hand to or shouted at Yugi?" Atem shook his head. He felt a little offended that Bakurawould even think aboutaskingthat question. But he answered it, nontheless.

"Never."

"Has Yugi ever told you that he'd wished he didn't live with you, or ever been angry at you?"

"Once; when he found out about his adoption; but that was taken care of as soon as he found out what his 'life givers' were like." Atem glared at the couple on the opposite side of the room. Bakura smiled and looked at the judge.

"No further questions." As he went to sit down, Don Friedman stood up.

"Mr. Darkling, I have a report here that says when Yugi was three years old, he was molested in a state park, were you there at that time?" Atem glared again and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Yes, but he wondered off"---

"And also, I see that your only babysitter for him was your elder brother, who I might mention is a convicted felon." Atem's vain looked as if it were about to explode out of his forehead. In the audience, he could hear Marik mumbling out every curse in every language he knew.

"My brother would never hurt a member of his family and he loves Yugi more then anything in the world."

"But still, isn't it a little suspicious that you'd have an ex-con baby sit a very fragile child?"

"He didn't go to prison for molesting a child!" Atem was starting to yell now, and he could tell that Friedman was getting a kick out of this.

"But still, that's a little"--- Bakura stood up and slammed his hands on the table he was sitting at.

"Objection, badgering!" Friedman turned around.

"Withdrawn; Mr. Darkling, you've also lied to this child in the past as well. You told him you had a dead wife and never told him about his adoption.

"Objection, what does that have to do with anything!" The judge shrugged.

"Overruled; the witness may answer the question." All eyes fell on Atem.

"Yes, I did lie to him." Friedman smirked.

"Thank you." He started to walk back to his seat, but Atem wasn't finished.

"But that was only for his protection; he forgave me for it!"

"No more questions." Friedman said. Atem was growling under his breath. 'Bakura was right; total blood-sucker!' He thought to himself.

"You may step down, Mr. Darkling." The judge said. Atem casually walked back to his seat and sat down.

Yugi cringed. He'd never seen his father so upset before. It that lawyer was that tough on questioning his father, just imagine what he'd do to poor Little Yugi. Yugi thought he was going to crack under the questioning. He'd hoped that he wouldn't be called at all.

"Your Honor, the defense would like to call upon Yugi Darkling." Too late … Yugi sighed as he shakily stood up and made his way over to the bench. Like the little prince he was, he sat up straight and placed his hands in his lap. He was starting to sweat both out of fear and the fact that he was wearing a navy blue sweater-vest and a white turtle-neck under it. He looked at Atem, who smiled another loving smile. Yugi smiled at that smile, but then looked over at the other table, only to find glares of death in those eyes. He silently gulped as he was sworn in. Uncle Bakura questioned him first. He winked at his small nephew, hoping to get rid of some of the tension.

"Yugi, do you love your father?" Yugi smiled.

"Yes, very much."

"Can you tell me all the things he's done for you?" The boy nodded.

"He takes care of me when I'm sick; he makes sure he doesn't have to work. He always makes me take my medicines, even though I don't want to." The jury and the audience laughed at how adorable he was. "He takes me out to eat when I get good grades on tests. And he sings to me at night when I can't seem to fall asleep." Atem smiled, looking at Yugi with all the love he had. He could hear some of the jury members making awe sounds.

"Tell me, Yugi; when you found out you were adopted, how did you take it?" Yugi lowered his head in shame.

"I acted like a brat …"

"How so?"

"I told him that he wasn't really my father and that I wanted to see my real parents."

"When you found them, what did they do?" Bakura asked. Atem could see the tears in Yugi's eyes and knew he was trying to hold them back.

"T-the lady she-she slapped me a-and the man tried to-to-to shoot me." There were gasps everywhere. The man at the other table hid his face in his hand.

"And what did you do when they shot at you?"

"I ran home to my dad." Bakura winked at him again.

"No further questions." Yugi let out a breath; one down, one to go. Friedman came up with an evil glint in his eyes.

"Don't you think you might be exaggerating a little bit?" Yugi blinked.

"What?"

"I mean your father could have been shooting at someone behind you that you didn't see."

"But he"---

"And I don't think that was your mother that slapped you; it may have been her twin sister that slapped you since she didn't know you."

"But I"---

"You don't really know them, do you Yugi? Shouldn't all children have the chance to know where their roots lie?" Yugi knew he couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

"I … I guess you're right …" He said. Atem's eyes widened when he said that. "But … but I don't want to get to know them; I love my dad and I don't want a new one." Friedman was getting annoyed.

"Ugh, no further questions …" Yugi's chin was shivering a mile a minute.

"You may step down, Yugi." Yugi did as told and went back to sit by Uncle Marik, who nudged him in the elbow and smiled, trying to get Yugi to cheer up. It didn't work very well.

---

During the recess, Atem held Yugi the entire time, telling him that it would all work out and that they could go home soon. Once the trial regrouped, it was time for the decision to be made. Despite all the abuse that Yugi's parents had given him in his life, Don Friedman was able to convince the judge and jury that the couple couldn't possibly have done any of those things simply because they had never been in his life. Bakura was finding this harder then he expected. Now, it all came down to this. Judge Heth let out a deep sigh.

"Given the information that has been brought up during this hearing, I have come to a decision. Would both parties please stand?" Atem and Bakura stood up as did the couple and Friedman. "Mr. Darkling," Atem gulped from just hearing his name, "You have proven that you are a good and responsible father for this young child." Hope found its way into Atem's system, but was crashed just as quickly as it came. "However, this court must side with the biological parents of the child. Not only would he discover his roots, but he also deserves a mother and a father." Atem gasped as tears made their way down his face. "Custody of the minor child, Yugi, goes to Jack and Olga Moto."

"No!" Atem and Bakura said together.

"NOOOOOOO!" Yugi screamed.

---

_End of Chapter_


	11. How Things Are

_Hey, chill out! The one thing you gotta know about the way I write is that yes, I do put Yugi in danger, but I take him right back out of it again! Like I said last time, no going off on me at the end! I'm still not done! Anyway, here's theturn-around that you've all been waiting for, sheesh!_

---

**"NOOOOOOOOO!" Yugi screamed as he flew out of his seat and ran right into Atem's arms. The sad father desperately clutched the small boy in his arms, both crying. "I don't wanna leave you, Dad …" Atem ran his hand up and down Yugi's back, trying to soothe him,**

**"I know, I know … I don't want this either; but we have to be strong about this, alright?" Yugi buried his face in Atem's chest even more.**

**"I don't know if I can …" Atem pulled Yugi away from him and held his face in his hands.**

**"Listen to me: I love you with all my heart. And I promise that I will whatever I can to get you back. Until then, we have to be strong for each other." He rubbed Yugi's cheeks with his thumbs, sometimes wiping tears away, "Please don't surrender to this, Yugi. You have come so far; I didn't raise a son to surrender." He couldn't hold back the tears anymore and he held Yugi tightly again.**

**Just then, Jack stood up and pointed at Atem. "Your Honor," Everyone in the courtroom looked at him, "I demand that a restraining order be placed on Mr. Darkling to keep him away from my son!" Atem growled and pulled Yugi closer to him.**

**"Absolutely not, Mr. Moto," Everyone turned to face Judge Heth, "Mr. Darkling has proven that he loves the child dearly; therefore, I am granting that Yugi stay with him every Wednesday night and every other weekend." Jack cringed. Atem would have cheered at the fact that he at least got to see Yugi, but it wasn't enough. Atem looked at the couple at the opposite table and glared.**

**"I'm taking him home to gather his stuff; then we'll be back." As they left, Bakura stayed behind to collect his paperwork. Friedman thought it to be a good time to rub it in Bakura's face that he won the trial.**

**"See, Darkling; that is how a real lawyer handles a case." Bakura rolled his eyes and threw the strap of his bag over his shoulder.**

**"Yeah, manipulating the system and making little kids cry. Just the kinda thing I'd expect from a virgin lawyer!"**

**"Hey!" Bakura snickered. He knew that was a sensitive spot for his opposing council. Bakura said nothing farther and left to go find his brothers.**

**---**

**At home, Atem and Yugi hardly said a word to each other as they packed up all of Yugi's things. Atem placed some clothes in a suitcase, but stopped when he saw Ping. The bear was aged, that much was obvious, but it still held together and kept Yugi company at night. He reached for it and held it in his hands, remembering when he had given it to Yugi back when he was in the hospital.**

**"What's the matter, Dad?" Yugi asked. Atem looked over in Yugi's direction and smiled sadly.**

**"Nothing; just thinking about the day I gave you this. It was the day after you were born. You were still in an incubator, but I knew that you'd need company, even if you were barely conscious." Yugi smiled and took Ping from his father.**

**"Maybe that's why I can't sleep without him. I've had him all my life." Tears started to make their way down Yugi's face. He ran into Atem's arms and hugged him tightly. "I don't wanna say goodbye, I'm gonna miss you so much, Dad!" Atem rubbed Yugi's back and quietly shushed him.**

**"Shh … it's going to be alright; remember that we still have Wednesday nights and every other weekend together." Atem rubbed Yugi's cheeks with his thumbs. Yugi leaned in to give Atem another hug. Both didn't stop the tears this time.**

**A few hours later, the Darklings returned to the court house. The Motos were standing outside with impatient looks. Yugi looked out the window of the car and gulped. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he wasn't sure if he was going to survive the night. In his hands, he squeezed Ping close to him. As he stepped out of the car, he wouldn't let go of Atem's hand. The depressed father sighed and looked at a small sheet of paper that was in his hands.**

**"Alright, here's a list of his medicines; I wrote down the times and how often he takes them." He offered to give it to Jack who snatched it and stuffed it in his pocket.**

**"Whatever; c'mon, let's go." Yugi looked at Atem one last time.**

**"I love you, Dad." Atem couldn't help but smile.**

**"I love you too, Yugi." Yugi smiled when suddenly, Ping was ripped right out of his arms.**

**"Hey!"**

**"You don't need this anymore." Olga said as she threw the stuffed animal onto the sidewalk. Yugi gasped. "Hurry up!" She took hold of Yugi's collar and dragged him into the car. Once all three passengers were in, the car sped off with a screech of the tires. Atem slowly walked over and picked Ping up from the sidewalk. He embraced the stuffed panda bear. Marik and Bakura looked at each other. They didn't know what to do.**

**"Hey 'Tem, anything we can do to help?" Marik asked. Atem didn't answer. All he did was drop to his knees and screamed bloody murder.**

**---**

**The next morning was quiet; much too quiet. Without Yugi, it seemed that all life signs of life in the house were lost. There was no laughter, no annoying questions, and no sunshine. Marik and Bakura sat at the table, neither speaking a word. Atem was not with them. Both had cups of coffee in front of them, but they couldn't bring themselves to drink it. Something was missing; something so simple: Yugi. Bakura sighed.**

**"I can't believe he slept with that panda bear last night." Marik nodded.**

**"I can't believe he slept with that panda bear in Yugi's room last night." He replied. It had been true. Atem spent the rest of the other day in Yugi's room, crying over the loss of his son. Being able to be around him was not the same as having him home. The other two Darklings couldn't think of anything to help their brother. He had cried himself to sleep last night. Yugi was his whole world, and now that world came crashing down on him. Yugi was gone. Sure, he'd be back on Wednesday, but it wasn't the same as it used to be.**

**He kept thinking of times when Yugi was a baby. He was so adorable. People would often come over and express how adorable he was. Sure, they had their arguments, who didn't? But Atem still loved him no matter what. It wasn't the same not having Yugi there. Now Atem's world had no light or color. All there was was black and grey. He wouldn't come out of Yugi's room for anything. He didn't eat or even move.**

**Soon, days passed. Atem would spend his days in Yugi's room. His son had promised that he would call every night, but no call ever came. Atem was worried; no, he was terrified that something had happened to his precious baby boy. He wanted to do something. He thought he was going to go out of his mind.**

**---**

**Finally, Wednesday came, and Atem was so excited to see Yugi again. His new '_parents_', and I use that term loosely, were going to drop him off after school. Atem was going to make Yugi's favorite meal: lasagna. The sides were going to be sweet peas, mashed potatoes and garlic cheese bread. He even bought some _Hawaiian Punch_, since Yugi was still a juice-fanatic.**

**Finally, he heard a car door slam and walked to the front door. The door slowly opened and revealed Yugi, who had a look that seemed very … lost. His eyes, those sparkling jewels of sunshine and happiness … were gone. Only a blur of purple and grey were left.**

**"Yugi, what's wrong?" Yugi visibly flinched. Atem took one step closer to him, and the boy took a step back, putting his hands up in defense. He was shaking uncontrollably. "Yugi, please speak to me!" But he wouldn't; it was as if he were in some sort of trance. Then, a thought came. Atem gasped. He clutched Yugi's shoulders and shook him lightly. "Yugi, say something!" Yugi's lost, tired eyes raised to Atem's.**

**"W-where am I?"**

**"Oh no … you're having one of your episodes!" Yugi almost fainted. Luckily, Atem caught him and carried the child over to the sofa. It was obvious that Yugi wasn't taking his medicine. He ran over to a cabinet that he kept over-the-counter drugs in. It was a good thing that he had extras of all of Yugi's medicines. Finding the right pill, he quickly gave it to him. Once he was able to keep it down, the small boy fell into a deep sleep.**

**About an hour or so later, Yugi awoke to find that he was back home. He was expecting to be in that terrible basement with his 'parents' towering over him, ready to strike at any moment. But he didn't; there was Atem on the other side of the sofa, reading a magazine.**

**"Dad …?" Hearing his name, Atem quickly put the magazine down and kneeled down on the floor to Yugi's level. He started to run his fingers through the boy's hair.**

**"Yugi, are you alright?"**

**"I-I don't know … what happened? How did I get here?" Atem quirked a brow.**

**"What's the last thing that you remember?" Yugi had to think for a second.**

**"I was in the school yard … and then … nothing."**

**"You don't remember Jack dropping you off and coming here?" The confused boy shook his head.**

**"How long has it been since you last took any of your medicines?"**

**"I don't know … probably the day I moved out." A week; Yugi hadn't taken his medicine in a week!**

**"Why not?" Angelic lilac eyes turned away.**

**"I'm not supposed to say …"**

**"Not supposed to say what?" Yugi was squirming now.**

**"No …"**

**"Yugi, are they hurting you?"**

**"I can't talk about it …" Now Atem was getting angry. He wasn't sure whether he was angry at those people for hurting his child, or if he was angry at Yugi for not wanting to talk about it.**

**"Yugi, if they're hurting you, you need to tell me so that I can help you." Yugi shook his head.**

**"I can't say …"**

**"Why not! What can't you say!" Atem was starting to yell now, and it was scaring Yugi.**

**"Because they'll kill me!" Atem gasped. Yugi was too young to know what the word '_kill_' meant.**

**"What?" The boy was sobbing now.**

**"T-they said that i-if I ever told w-what they do to me, t-they'll shoot me!" Atem's jaw dropped. "That lawyer was wrong in court."**

**"What do you mean?" Yugi sniffled.**

**"He said that my '_father_' may have been shooting at someone else the day that I met them … but he wasn't … he was shooting at me …" Yugi was thrown into hysteria now. Atem tightly embraced him. He was surprised when Yugi curled into himself.**

**"Yugi, it's alright now … I'm not going to hurt you." Hearing that and feeling the soft rubbing on his back, Yugi felt safe for the first time in a week. To him, that week was like a lifetime.**

**At dinner, Atem allowed Yugi to sit in his lap. The boy attacked the food like he hadn't eaten in days, which he probably hadn't. After dinner, they checked his blood sugar level. It was dangerously low. Yugi was glad that he was with Atem that night. One more night without his medicines and he probably would have been dead from abandoning them cold turkey. Atem gave Yugi all his medicines. That night, he gave Ping back to him. Yugi was so happy to see Ping again that he didn't put it down for the rest of the night. When it was time for bed, Atem allowed Yugi to sleep in his bed. He decided that he would talk with Bakura about this tomorrow. Something had to be done, and if Atem had anything to say about it, something _would_ be done. He'd get his child back one way or another.**

---

_End of Chapter_


	12. Yugi, Come Home

_Sorry this took so long, Folks. To tell you the truth, I was gonna wait until next weekend on my birthday to update. But since a friend told me to update now, so I did. Even though my twentieth birthday is next Saturday, you're all going to get a present today. So, here it is!_

---

Atem was reluctant to take Yugi back to the Moto house, but until he could prove that the couple was physically abusing _HIS_ child, he was legally theirs. Yugi was shivering. He was too scared to get out of the car.

"I can't go back … they'll kill me!" Atem unbuckled his seat belt and went to Yugi's side of the car. He firmly kissed the scared child on the forehead and held him in a tight hug.

"Listen, I have a plan, but I really need you to be brave for me in order for this to work, alright?" Yugi sniffled and nodded. "Alright, this is a recorder; I want you to keep it on throughout the night and then tomorrow, instead of going to school, I want you to come home, alright?" Yugi nodded again.

"'Kay …" Atem smiled sadly.

"Oh, one more thing …" He pulled out Ping from behind his back. Yugi let out a small giggle when he saw his favorite toy.

"Ping!" He grabbed the doll and clung to him. Then, like he'd been hit by a truck, a thought came to him. "I can't take him inside … they'll get mad …" Atem sighed, but he understood as well. He remembered Yugi's tearful eyes when Olga ripped it out of his hands.

"Maybe you're right. But I'll keep him safe, alright?" Yugi smiled and hugged Atem one more time before he got out of the car and sadly walked into the dark house. Atem had never been more scared in his life. He knew that leaving his baby boy with those people was an accident waiting to happen. But he knew that Bakura would help with the legal matters. He let out a ripple sad sigh before he drove off to his home.

---

When he was able to get home, his brothers were still there. Bakura asked what the house looked like and Atem described a broken down old shack, probably no electricity or plumbing at all. Not the best place to raise a child, especially a sickly child like Yugi. It may sound sick and twisted, but Atem liked it when Yugi was sick. It gave him the chance to take care of the boy, and he loved doing that so much. It'd be another three days before Yugi would be back, so Atem had to make sure he had a good portion of Yugi's medicines at hand, not wanting another replay of this visit.

"So, what are we gonna do?" Marik asked. Atem sighed and sat down at the table with his brothers.

"Well, I gave Yugi a recorder to record anything that happens over there. Hopefully, he'll be able to get something to prove that those people shouldn't be raising him." Bakura took a sip of his beer and sighed.

"Damn, why would those jackasses want Yugi back anyway? He's always sick, too hyper, and gets into trouble more then even Marik can." Marik was about to make a wise comeback, but thought that was pretty close to the truth.

"The truth is, I don't know what we're going to do. If we go to the police, they'll probably hit Yugi even harder."

"What makes you think they're hitting him?"

"He had scars all over his back and hand marks on his cheeks." Bakura stood in his chair.

"That's child abuse! It's illegal!"

"I know … I need to be alone for a while …" Atem said. He reached for Ping and made his way up to Yugi's old room.

"Damn, he's got it bad." Bakura raised a brow.

"Got what bad?"

"You know, separation anxiety from Yugi. He can't sleep, can't eat, and worst of all, when he does sleep, he sleeps with Yugi's stuffed animal. Isn't that Post-Partum Depression?" Bakura blinked and slapped his own face with his hand.

"You idiot! That's only when a woman gives birth and ignores her baby!"

"Oh, then … forget I said anything."

---

That weekend, Atem went to Yugi's school to pick him up. He wanted to surprise the boy, and keep him away from those people as long as possible. It was two thirty; fifteen more minutes, and he would be able to spend all weekend with Yugi. He couldn't wait. He had so many things planned for when he saw his little one. He missed the boy so much. Soon, the children started to pile out of the school. So far, none of them were Yugi. After about ten minutes, half of the student body had left the school grounds. The busses had gone and so had many of the other children whose parents came to pick them up. Yugi was nowhere to be found. Atem was getting very worried. He decided to go into the school and check to see if Yugi had come that day. He jogged into the front office.

"Excuse me, but was Yugi Dar--- I mean … Yugi … Moto here today?" Atem cringed when he called Yugi by his biological last name. The secretary checked the computer system.

"Well, he was in his first three classes, but then it seems as if he just disappeared." She said. Atem gasped.

"You don't know where he is now? What kind of school are you running?" He yelled in panic.

"Why, the best in the district, of course." The secretary added with a smile. Atem cringed and left the office.

Once he was out of the office, Atem took out his cell phone and dialed Bakura's number. Even if his younger brother wasn't home, Marik definitely would be. The ringing on the other end rang twice before a rough voice answered.

"_House of laughs, what's your problem_?" Marik answered.

"Marik, is Bakura there?"

"_Nah, he's in the middle of a case right now, and he told me not ta disturb 'im 'less it involved human sacrifice_." Atem could hear Marik snickering on the other end.

"Well disturb him anyway; this is a life and death matter! Yugi disappeared from school in the middle of the day!"

"_Huh … that is quite a situation_."

"Marik!"

"_Okay, okay. If it'll make ya feel any better, I'll call 'im and go lookin' around for the squirt, 'kay_?"

"Thank you. I'm on my way to the Motos' right now and give them a piece of my mind."

"_Sure, give 'em a piece of your mind for me too, 'kay_?" Atem smirked and hung up the phone.

---

About fifteen minutes later, Atem arrived at the beat-up old steps of the Moto … shack. He forcefully pounded on the door. On the other side of the door, Atem could hear a grumpy man stomping through the house and shouting, "_You damn little girls, I said I don't want to cook_---", the door opened to reveal Jack Moto with a gun in his hand, "Why Mr. Darkling, how kind of you to – Oph!" Before Jack could finish his sentence, Atem punched the trashy man right in the nose. He reached forward, grabbed the gun, threw it to the ground and stomped on it with great force. "Hey, you owe me fifteen hundred dollars for tha"--- Before he could finish another sentence, Atem punched him again, this time in the gut. Atem let himself into the dark house and tackled Jack to the floor.

"**WHERE IS HE, YOU ROTTEN EXCUSE FOR A HUMAN BEING!**" he yelled from the top of his lungs. Jack choked, trying to talk.

"What're ya talkin' 'bout?" He asked right before Atem punched him again in the nose.

"Don't act like you don't know! Where is Yugi!" Atem took out a knife he had in his pocket and held it to the man's throat. "TELL ME OR ELSE!" Jack just snickered through all the blood.

"Would you like me to tell you or would you rather kill me?" Atem's thin patience was dwindling down to almost nothing. He pressed the knife further into Jack's neck.

"What I want to know is why you wanted to even look at Yugi when you abandoned him eleven years ago!"

"Oh, is that what you want to know?" Jack knew he was pushing Atem's buttons, and was proved when Atem kicked the trashy man in the dark spot.

"TELL ME NOW!"

"He's in a place where you won't find him." Atem's eyes filled with horror. He hoped to high heaven that nothing had happened to his baby. Atem reached for Jack's leg and forcefully twisted it into an awkward position until he heard it snap and Jack scream.

"You listen to me, you piece of shit! The police are on their way over here now. I'm going out to find Yugi, and when I find him, and I will, you better hope to God that I find him alive, or I will personally see to it that I give you a worse punishment then even Lucifer himself could give you!" And with that, Atem left the injured man to his own agony while at the same time, the police arrived to arrest the broken man.

Just then, Bakura and Marik pulled up. Bakura was still in his suit while Marik just wore a pair of baggy jeans and a wife beater. "'Tem, what's the news?"

"He says that he took Yugi from school and hid him somewhere where we won't find him." Bakura ran his fingers through his hair.

"Damn, then we may never find him."

"Oh, we'll find him. As God is my witness, we'll find him."

For the next few days, The Darkling Triplets and a search team checked every square inch of Domino City, but could not find a trace of Little Yugi. Atem silently cried himself to sleep every night, hugging Ping. If they didn't find the boy soon, and get him the medicines he needed, the boy would surly die. If Yugi died, then Atem would too. His will to live would be worth nothing. He just had to find him. Right now, He was stationed outside of Domino Park; Yugi's favorite place to play.

"Now, if I were Yugi, where would I be?" He asked himself. The young man closed his eyes and let a memory take him over.

---

_About eight years earlier, when Yugi was three years old, he came to the park and played '_Hide and Seek'_ with Ryou and Malik. Ryou leaned against a tree and started counting._

_"One … two … uh free … uh six …" Malik and Yugi giggled and took off in different directions. Malik hid in one of the small crawl-through tubes. He stayed there and giggled silently._

_On the other side of the park, Yugi was looking for a place to hide when suddenly, one of his spells hit. It was a minor dizzy spell, but spells like that were enough to make Yugi throw up. He started to sway back and forth before finally, he fainted, and fell into a large ditch._

_"Uh … eightity-eleven, uh … eightity-twelve ... uh … one hundred! Ready or not, here I come!" Ryou announced. He started to jog all over the park. Marik kept changing hiding places in order to confuse his white friend. "Malik, stop moving 'wound, I know you're changing pwaces!" Finally he saw Malik running for the tree that they called 'base', and he ran after him. "Gotcha!" Ryou ran after Malik, reaching out a hand to tap the taller, tanner child, but Malik was faster and reached base before Ryou could tap him._

_"Ha, ha; home free!" Ryou stomped his foot._

_"Aw, nuts!" _

_"Shush; Yugi still bes out dere." Malik said._

_"Oh yeah!" So Ryou ran off to look for Yugi. After about twenty minutes, the small white boy couldn't find the smaller, exotic child. He went back over to Malik, who was playing in the sand. "Malik, I can't find him anywhere." Malik looked up with confusion in his eyes._

_"I help you!" They went in search of the smallest boy again, but couldn't find him anywhere._

_"Yugi! Yugi where are you!" They called. Ryou was starting to panic for his smaller friend._

_"Is he sick 'gain!"_

_"He's not sick 'gain, he don't know ta game bes ova." Malik looked around again. "Yugi, come out now; 'snot funny no mowa!" Suddenly, the two heard a car horn honking at them. It was Atem. The two children looked at each other. How were they going to tell him that his only son was missing?_

_"Hey, Boys; ready to leave? We'll stop by McDonald's and then I'll take you both home; where's Yugi?" Ryou and Malik glanced at each other again._

_"Uh … Mr. Yugi's dad, we can't find Yugi is right now …" Ryou said, shaking. Atem raised a brow._

_"What do you mean you don't know where he is?" Malik covered Ryou's mouth with his hand before the smaller blurted out that they lost the kid._

_"Um, we were playing '_Hide and Go Peek_' but we didn't finded him." Now Atem's eyes widened._

_"WHAT!" Both boys flinched at the man's loud shout._

_"We lookted for him, but we can't find him." Malik said. Atem ran over the park._

_"YUGI! YUGI WHERE ARE YOU!" Ryou and Malik followed, yelling the same thing. Domino Park was huge. There were at least six baseball fields, seven pavilions, two playgrounds, a lake, and a walking path. The three of them checked everywhere, but couldn't find Yugi anywhere. Atem was in full panic. He called his brothers who immediately came to help with the search. Marik took the woods and Bakura took the pond. Neither could find him._

_"How could one tiny kid fall off the face of the earth?" Marik asked. Atem shook his head._

_"He didn't, there has to have been something we missed!" Finally, Atem saw a ditch in a shady part of the park. He ran over and dug inside. Finally, he found Yugi covered in a pit of dirt and leaves. "Yugi, Yugi wake up, please!" He saw a puddle of vomit and knew that Yugi had had one of his dizzy spells. Finally, the boy began to choke and wake up._

_"Daddy …"_

_"Yugi, oh thank _GOD _you're safe! You must be freezing!" And he was. Yugi was shivering terribly. His lips were blue and his skin was a purple color. Atem took off his jacket and wrapped his shivering son in it._

_"Would you guys mind taking the boys home? I've got to get Yugi to a doctor." Bakura and Marik nodded, escorting the other two boys to their car._

_---_

That was it! Ever since Yugi discovered that ditch, he would run away to that ditch when he was pissed with Atem. Atem quickly ran to the ditch. When he got there, his suspicions were correct. There was Yugi, scared, alone … and naked? He could hear the boy sniffling and sobbing. He carefully entered the ditch as not to scare him. The boy was holding himself, shivering. He looked so blue and broken.

"Yugi?" At the sound of his name, the boy fell into a corner of the ditch and brought his knees to his chest. "No, No, Yugi it's me." The boy slowly turned his head. Atem saw eyes, which once held the light of the world, now dull and lifeless. Yugi kept opening in closing his mouth like a fish, but couldn't speak. He didn't know where he was, and maybe … even who he was. He needed his medications NOW. Atem wrapped Yugi in his jacket, just like he did all those years ago. He saw that the boy's rear was raw and bloody. He'd been raped and beaten; and most likely left for dead. Atem was beyond pissed right now, He was FURIOUS. But more on that later, right now, he had to get Yugi's medicine into him and to medical attention. As He lifted the boy and made his way out of the ditch, he spotted something in the boy's hand. It was the tape recorder that he'd given Yugi earlier in the week. Most likely he'd caught something to make those people abandon him once again.

---

In the waiting room, Atem had gone over the tape once again after the millionth time he played it. There was so much on this tape, he was sure to get full custody of Yugi once again and those people locked away for good. Once he stopped the tape, he looked around. He remembered being in that same waiting room to find out results the day he brought Yugi here when he was born. He'd been abandoned then too. Atem cried for his son. It seemed as if the world was telling him that the child really was supposed to die. NO! He wouldn't accept that. No child deserved to die at the dawn of life. He loved Yugi too much and would fight to keep him alive, even at the cost of his own life.

"Mr. Darkling?" Atem looked up to see Dr. Manteuffel. The same doctor that treated Yugi the first time.

"How is he?" Manteuffel sighed.

"Not good. He lost a lot of blood because of his hemophilia. He has multiple skull fractures, meaning that he was hit on the head a lot. He also had major internal bleeding in his anal area and around his"---

"Alright, alright, alright I've got it … anything else?"

"I'm afraid that his head wounds have caused his minor Fugue episodes to become full blown amnesia." Atem gasped.

"So … he didn't know who I was when I found him?" Manteuffel shook his head with a sorry look.

"I'm afraid to say that he didn't even know who he was himself. Besides that, his insulin level was very low, so we put some in his IV and it seems to be better now. And with his asthma, his lungs had practically collapsed on him, so we put and oxygen mask on him. We were finally able to stabilize him." Atem stared at the floor and absently nodded. "May I ask how he got this bad in the first place?" Atem looked up with tears in his eyes.

"He was … given back to his … parents …"

"What? How?"

"Court order. They said they had to side with them because he'd have both a mother and a father."

"Well did you mention all the things that happened because of the fact that they abandoned him and caused him to be born before he was ready?" Atem nodded.

"Yes, we mentioned all of that, but the opposing council made it all seemed like genetic chances." Manteuffel sighed.

"Pardon my language, but that's bullshit." Atem smiled.

"Well I'm happy to see that you agree with me." The doctor put his hand on Atem's shoulder.

"Atem, you should have told me; I would have come down with the medical records that we have on Yugi and backed you up."

"Well, from what I have here on this tape, it should be enough for me to get Yugi back."

"Just the same; if you need my help, I'm here." Atem smiled.

"Thank you. May I see him now?" Manteuffel nodded. He led Atem down a long hallway to the room that Yugi was staying in. In the window, he could see Yugi hooked up to all kinds of machines and a mask over his face. The boy was watching TV. Gulping silently, Atem entered the room, gaining the attention of the injured boy. The boy turned his head to look at the person who had just entered his room. Atem smiled.

"Hello, Yugi … do you know who I am?" Yugi blinked in confusion, but then smiled before he slowly whispered.

"… You're the person who saved me …" Atem smiled and nodded his head. He couldn't help but let a small ping of pain enter his heart at the broken boy's words.

"Yes, I did. But do you know who else I am?" Yugi shook his head. Atem gulped. "I'm your …" He wasn't sure if he'd be lying to his son or not. Technically, he wasn't Yugi's father. But that would all be taken care of. At that very minute, he knew that his younger brother would be finding some way to tell a judge of the horrible things Yugi had been exposed to, and he would have Yugi back in his bed, safe and sound. "I'm your father." Yugi attempted to sit up, but Atem held him back.

"… You're really my … dad?" Atem's heart was breaking at this scene. He just wanted to think that it was one of Yugi's episodes, but it wasn't. The damage done to his still developing brain had taken its toll. And Yugi's only defense mechanism was to forget all his memories. But still, Atem couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever have his little boy back the way he was now that he had been traumatized to this point.

"Yes, I am." Yugi once again tried to sit up and this time, he succeeded. He held out his arms. An image of Yugi as a baby, reaching out to Atem for him to pick the baby up and cuddle with him, entered his mind. Yugi kept his arms out.

"Will you hold me?" Atem could never deny the child that request, and he wasn't planning on starting now.

"Of course, My Little One." Atem picked Yugi's small form up and lay down in the hospital bed with the child snuggling to his chest.

---

_End of Chapter_


	13. Hope

_Well, I'm sorry to say that after a long wait, this is the final chapter of this story. I had fun doing it. But don't expect a sequal, because there's really no need for one. Well, enjoy the finale of "_You Need My Help and I Need Yours

_---_

After the police raided the Moto house and found that it was NOT an environment for a child, let alone an amnesiac child, custody over Yugi was given to Atem, but just until the trial against Yugi's parents. Things had been bad for the little boy. He was very broken. The only person he even trusted to be in the room with him was Atem. And whenever Atem was gone, Yugi would cry for him until he came back. Yugi still didn't really remember Atem that much, but all he knew was that he was safe in this man's arms, so he figured that was good enough. It was as if Yugi had taken five steps backwards. He barely ate, refused to be alone, and had trouble sleeping. Every night, Atem would rock Yugi to sleep in his giant hospital bed. The poor thing was so torn up, and he didn't even know why. Atem did, but in his mind, his son never needed to know why.

It hurt to walk, heck, it hurt to move! Yugi couldn't move his legs without pain. He would often ask what was wrong with him, and Atem would always say the same thing: 'you're going to be alright.' It wasn't really an answer, but Atem did not even want to face that question.

---

About a month later, Yugi was finally ready to go home. He could walk for short periods of time, and luckily for him, he was still small, so Atem was able to carry him when it hurt too much. Atem helped Yugi into the car. He seemed especially quiet. It was obvious that he was scared.

"Yugi, you don't have to be scared, you're going home now." Yugi looked at him and smiled sadly.

"I know … it just … it feels weird …" What Yugi couldn't tell Atem was that with his amnesia, the word '_home_' didn't feel like '_home_'. He constantly had the feeling of being lost and wanting to go '_home_', but he doesn't know where '_home_' is. Atem sighed. This was not how he wanted Yugi to return to him.

Finally, they pulled up into the driveway. Yugi looked out the window and gasped. "It's so big …" Atem had to chuckle at that.

"Wait till you see the inside." Atem ushered Yugi into the house with his hand on the boy's back. When Yugi entered the house, he literally gasped. It was so big and clean. He felt a little more like he belonged here then he did at the hospital, but things were still a little fuzzy. He jumped when Atem put his hand on his shoulder, causing the father's face to sadden.

"I'm sorry …" Atem bent down and gave Yugi a kiss on the forehead.

"Don't be; I understand." Atem gave Yugi a quick tour of the house, some dinner, a bath, and then it was off to bed. The boy had to admit that the soft bed in his small room felt better then the stiff bed in the hospital. He looked around for a bit. Apparently, he had a lot of history in this room. He saw drawings that were made by a child, but they had his name written in the lower right hand corners. There were toys scattered all over the floor. A banner with the word 'Yugi' written on it hung on the wall over the window. Taking all this in, the small boy shed a tear down his face. So much has happened in his life, but he couldn't remember any of it. He decided to put these thoughts aside and just sleep on it.

---

Later that night, Atem was awoken at three o'clock a.m. when he heard an ear pitching scream. Recognizing the voice right away, he bolted out of his bed and over to Yugi's room.

"Yugi!" Inside, he found the boy thrashing in his bed. The blankets had made their way to the ground and Yugi kept throwing his head back and forth.

"No, NO! Leave me alone!" Atem went over to the sleeping boy and tried to shake him awake.

"Yugi, wake up."

"**STOP! PLEASE, HELP**!" Yugi screamed louder and Atem took both hands and shook Yugi's shoulders.

"Yugi, wake up!" Finally, after what seemed like forever, Yugi woke up. When he noticed Atem right next to him, he gasped loudly and skittered to the farthest corner he could find. "No, no it's alright, Little One; I'm here now." Yugi started to become short of breath, and he didn't know why. Atem started to panic. He reached over onto Yugi's dresser and picked up his oxygen mask. Before the boy could protest out of fear, he had already stuck the mask to his face. Atem turned on the machine and tried to calm the terrified boy. "It's alright, Little One; just calm down and you'll be fine." Yugi's chest was still rapidly trying to get air into his lungs, so fast that it started to hurt. After a few seconds, he began to calm down. He could feel some kind of medicine flowing through his repertory system. When he had calmed down, Atem sat on the bed and tried to gather the sickly boy in his arms. Yugi flinched. "It's alright, Yugi … I'm not going to hurt you …" Yugi was still caught up in the aftermath of his dream, but once he heard Atem's caring voice, he reached out his arms and allowed the man to hold him.

Yugi snuggled into his chest and let out a few tears. Atem rubbed Yugi's back, rocking and shushing him. Soon, the machine used to give Yugi a breathing treatment started to make a spitting sound, telling them that it was done. Atem turned off the machine and took the mask off of his small son.

"Feel better?" Yugi sniffled and nodded.

"Yes … thank you." The young father kissed his son on the head.

"Your welcome." Yugi snuggled into Atem's chest even farther. It was like he was trying to hide from the outside world. "Yugi, please tell me what you're thinking." He started to pet Yugi's hair, who relaxed under the motion.

"I … I don't know … t-there were t-these … two people … a-and … they … they did … horrible things to me …" Atem's face turned from hurt to anger. He snaked both arms around his son and brought him into a deep hug.

"You don't have to worry anymore, Little One. I promise that I'll protect you." Yugi looked up with confusion in his eyes.

"Who were they … the people in my dreams?" Atem gave Yugi another kiss on the forehead.

"I hate to have to be the one to tell you this, but … those people … are the ones who put you in the hospital." Yugi's eyes looked like he held so much confusion that his mind was like a file cabinet that was overflowing with unorganized information.

"How? Who are they?"

"Well, I think it's time I told you something that I didn't tell you in the hospital. You are my son, but only through adoption." Yugi gasped. "Those people are your biological parents. But you must understand, Yugi that I never want you to see them again after what they did to you." Now Yugi's confused head was starting to hurt. So Atem wasn't his real father, but his adopted father … and those people who hurt him were his parents … his life-givers … how could they do that to him?

"Why would they hurt me?" He asked with tears streaming down his face. Atem sighed and brought the child to his chest once again.

"That I'm not sure of. I can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt you." Yugi laid his head on Atem's chest.

"I think … I might … remember something …" Suddenly, Atem sat up and placed his hands on Yugi's shoulders.

"Good; Yugi, this is very important … do you remember anything about the day you found yourself hurt?" Yugi had to think for a bit. Things in his head were still fuzzy, but they were starting to come together. Suddenly, the small boy began to cry. Atem held him closer.

"Yugi?" Yugi just continued to cry … he didn't even know why, himself.

"I-I'm sorry … I don't know why"— Atem placed Yugi's head on his chest and started to rock back and forth.

"Shh … it's alright, Little One … tell me; what happened?" Yugi sniffled and began his sad story.

"… Well …"

---

Three weeks later, the trial against Yugi's parents began. Yugi kept his arms wrapped around Atem's waist and the father would always have his arms around his son. Bakura sat at one of the tables. Since it was his nephew that had been abused, he wanted to do this case against the Motos. "Case 45672 is now in session. People vs. Mr. and Mrs. Moto." The bailiff said. Everyone in the courtroom stood while the judge made his way to his seat. It was a different judge this time.

"Good evening, everyone; let's get down to business." Friedman stood up.

"Your Honor, this is absurd! We can't go through with this trial; it would be considered a Double Jeopardy!" Bakura stood up this time, smirking.

"Actually, it wouldn't, Your Honor. For the last trial was for custody over Little Yugi, but in this trial, the defendants face charges." The judge nodded in understanding.

"And just what are these charges, Mr. Darkling?" Bakura looked at the bailiff.

"One count of kidnapping in the first degree, one count of rape in the second degree, and one count of child endangerment." The judge looked at Friedman and his clients.

"This court will proceed." The court went smoothly for the Darklings. Atem's testimony of how they would deprive his son of the medications that he needed to live was what really got the jury's attention. During his testimony, they played the recording that Yugi had taken. The recording was awful. Those people were cussing, hitting, screaming at, and calling him names. Yugi cried in Uncle Marik's arms when Atem was at the stand. He hated having to hear those voices again. He knew the people at that table were the ones that hurt him … and slowly … the memories started to return. Once Atem was finished with his testimony, he went back to Yugi, who threw himself in his arms. Atem was hoping that the jury could see the frightened look in the child's eyes. He could hear some of them whispering to each other about Yugi.

Soon, the hard part came … it was Yugi's turn to take the stand. The boy gasped when they called his name. He looked at Atem with eyes that said '_please don't make me do it_'. Atem hugged Yugi and assured them that it would be fine. Slowly … and shakily, he made his way to the bench. Once there, Bakura winked at him and mouthed the words '_it'll be fine_'.

"Yugi, how much to you remember about your time with the Motos?" Yugi had to think about it for a second.

"Not much, really … the doctor says that my memory has gone because I hit my head."

"Look at them now … does anything strike you as familiar?" Yugi looked at the people at the table. They were glaring at him. Jack shook his head as if threatening silently '_don't you dare …_' Yugi was so scared. He couldn't help it anymore. He cried. He cried because those people scared him so much. He wanted his dad to hold.

"… Yes …"

"What comes to memory, Yugi?"

"T-they … hit me … in places I know I shouldn't be touched … They would hurt me … make me do bad things … and always said '_if you ever tell a soul about what goes on in this house, we'll make your death slow and painful … like it should have been ten years ago_' …" Yugi buried his face in his hands and sobbed. Atem stood up in his seat.

"Please, stop this! He's just a child!" The judge nodded and excused Yugi. The boy ran into Atem's arms, who picked him up and sat down. Atem ran his hand up and down Yugi's back, trying to calm him down.

Soon, Bakura called on Dr. Manteuffel too the stand. He explained Yugi's disorders and the x-rays he'd had throughout his life.

"When Mr. Darkling first brought Yugi to St. John's Mercy Hospital as an infant of only an hour old, we found that he had been two months premature. He had been forced out of his mother's womb." Bakura looked at the jury, then continued his questioning.

"How could you know that he was forced to be born?"

"The bruises on his skin proved that the mother had beat her own abdomen, causing her to go into an early labor.

"Dr. Manteuffel, Yugi is a hemophiliac, right?"

"Yes, that's correct."

"Can you explain what a hemophiliac is?"

"Hemophilia makes blood vessels thin out. If a hemophiliac were to even sneeze too hard, they could bleed to death." Bakura walked over to his table and took some of the pictures that the hospital had taken when Yugi had been brought in when he was found.

"Since he's a hemophiliac, how much blood do you think he lost when he was in this condition?"

"Too much; we had to do four blood transfusions to replace what he lost."

"Doctor, do you hold the defendants responsible for what happened to Yugi?" Manteuffel nodded.

"Yes. It was their job to take care of him, but they hurt him instead."

"No further questions."

Sometime later, Jack was able to take the stand. Bakura had a field day with this. Atem and Marik could tell that it was times like this that he enjoyed being a lawyer

"Jack, answer me one thing: why did you want Yugi back after ten years with absolutely no contact?" Jack smirked.

"He's my son … my flesh and blood. My wife and I though he was dead, but when he showed up at our door one day, our hopes came back.

"Well you sure have a funny way of showing it! Beating and raping him, and keeping him off his medicines!" Friedman stood up.

"Objection!"

"Your Honor, this is why the defendants are on trial, they're here because of the pain they put Little Yugi through." The judge nodded.

"I'll allow it." Friedman cussed and sat back down.

"Why did you hurt him? Why not leave him with Atem where you'd never have to see or even care for him?'

"Because we needed the money!" Jack exclaimed.

"What money?"

"The life insurance money. We wanted him dead so we could collect the life insurance money! There, I said it! Now 'ya happy!" Actually, Bakura was happy. He heard the jury members gasp amongst themselves.

"Nothing further."

While the jury was in session, the rest of the court was at a recess. Yugi refused to let Atem put him down. It was a good thing the boy was so light weight. The triplets chatted outside. Marik slapped Bakura on the back.

"That was some sweet stuff ya pulled in there, bro!" Bakura rubbed his shoulder and groaned.

"Thanks … but don't hit me." Atem chuckled.

"Do you think the judge would give Yugi back to me?" The child had fallen asleep in his father's arms. He had his head on Atem's shoulder.

"It looks good, bro." Atem smiled into Yugi's hair. He couldn't wait to bring Yugi home … for good.

It didn't take long for the jury to reach their verdict. And that's exactly what the judge asked. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" The first jury member stood up.

"We have, Your Honor." The judge looked at the couple before him.

"Would the defendants please rise?" Both Jack and Helga stood up, as well as Friedman and Bakura. "On the count of kidnapping in the first degree, how do you find?" Everyone looked at the standing jury member.

"We find the defendants guilty." The Darkling Triplets silently cheered.

"On the count of kidnapping in the second degree, how do you find?"

"We find the defendants guilty." Friedman sneered at Bakura, who flicked him off in return.

"And on the count of child endangerment, how do you find?" This was the one Yugi had been waiting for. It would decide if he went back to Atem … or _them_.

"We find the defendants … guilty." Atem and Yugi smiled at each other as the father embraced his son in his arms. The Motos were found guilty on all counts.

"Jack and Helga Moto have been found guilty on all counts … ergo, the custody of the minor, Yugi Darkling, goes to his legal guardian, Atem Darkling. Everyone cheered. It seemed that they were all on Yugi's side.

However, just then, something terrible happened. Jack had thrown a fit and started going crazy.

"_**YOU LITTLE BRAT! THIS TIME, DIE THE WAY YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO**_!" He moved too swiftly. He grabbed the bailiff's gun and a loud shot was heard. Atem looked down to see that Yugi had been shot just above his heart.

"No, no, no, no, no! HELP! SOMEONE CALL 911!" Yugi's eyes were glazed over, as if they had no life in them. The blood caused from the bullet was drenching his clothes. Luckily, Manteuffel was there, and was able to help while they were waiting for the paramedics to get there.

"He's losing too much blood again!" Yugi's hemophilia was acting up. The blood was flowing too fast for them to stop right now. Atem could see Yugi's bottom lip quivering. Tears formed in the father's eyes as he watched Yugi's olive skin turn ghostly white.

"… …D-dad …?" He was losing body heat too.

"It's going to be alright, Yugi; I promise." He took off his jacket and put it around the small, pained boy.

"… I … can't f-feel my legs … it's s-so … c-cold …" That was not a good sign.

"Shh … it's alright, Yugi. Everything's gonna be fine, I promise." The paramedics arrived at the courthouse quickly and took Yugi into their hands and away from Atem. Manteuffel held the grieving father back while they tried to put blood back into Yugi.

---

Several hours later, or really, forty-two hours later, Atem was sitting in the waiting room at St. John's Mercy, sipping on a cup of coffee. He hadn't slept at all since the incident at the courthouse. Yugi was still in surgery. He couldn't stop the tears from flowing. What if Jack finally did it? Finally killed the sweet little boy that Atem had raised? He shook his head to relieve himself of that thought. He couldn't think that way. His coffee was now cold, for it had been sitting in the Styrofoam cup since he had gotten there.

It was during the forty-third hour that Bakura and Marik came into the waiting room with him.

"How is he?" The eldest of the triplets asked. Atem slowly shook his head.

"Still waiting for an answer." Marik looked at Bakura and shrugged.

"Well, maybe this'll make ya feel better. We just came from the Motos' sentencing. That bitch got life with no deals." Atem looked up.

"And Jack?" Bakura smiled.

"The shooting got him an automatic needle." Atem had to admit, though he wasn't a supporter of the death penalty, he did wand Jack dead for what he did to Yugi. Just then, Manteuffel came out of the OR. All three triplets stood up.

"Well?"

"He'll be fine." Atem let out a long-held sigh of relief. "However, the bullet managed to scrape one of his lungs, so his asthma is going to be even worse from now on."

"But he'll live?" Atem asked. Manteuffel nodded.

"You may see him if you want." Atem didn't have to be asked twice. He sped off to the room where Yugi was held.

---

Inside, the familiar picture of the little boy in the giant hospital bed, with a breathing mask on his face came to him. He could tell Yugi was awake because the TV was on. When he saw Atem, he wanted to sit up, but he found it too painful.

"Hello, Little One." Yugi took the oxygen mask off of his face and smiled.

"Hi, Dad." Atem smiled too. It felt so good to be called '_dad_'. Atem sat on the bed and rubbed Yugi's cheek, just the way he liked it.

"How do you feel?" Yugi was too busy nuzzling his father to answer right away.

"A little tired, but okay."

"Dr. Manteuffel says that you can come home in a few days." Yugi looked at his father with shimmering eyes. "What's the matter?"

"W-what if … they come back for me?" Atem smiled and bent down to give his little boy a kiss on the forehead.

"They won't. Helga has been locked away and Jack … well, let's just say that Jack will never bother you again."

"You promise?" Atem nodded.

"Don't I always keep my promises?" Yugi giggled and nodded. He raised his arms for Atem to hug him, and that's exactly what he did.

From that day on, Yugi's life was never in pain again. Sure, he had a few problems with his disabilities, but at least he knew that he was safe and loved.

---

_The End_


End file.
